


Twitter threads.

by Kelticmoon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Autistic Keith (Voltron), Blow Jobs, CEO Shiro (Voltron), Dad Keith, F/F, Farmer Keith (Voltron), Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Outdoor Sex, Professor Shiro, Rich Shiro (Voltron), Rimming, Secretary Keith (Voltron), Single Parent Keith (Voltron), family disownment, house fire, student Keith, they were roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2020-09-26 09:09:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 40,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20387239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelticmoon/pseuds/Kelticmoon
Summary: A collection of threads on twitter





	1. Rich City Boy Shiro, Poor Country Boy Keith AU

Shiro’s the only child of a wealthy businesswoman and a banker (now deceased) with impossible standards that Shiro is supposed to live up to.

Shiro had the best nannies growing up in a staffed mansion, he went to the best private schools with all the perks of having wealthy parents, but the one thing he didn’t grow up with was unconditional love from his mother.

Keith on the other hand is the son of a deceased firefighter and farmer living with his mom, sister Acxa, adopted younger sister Romelle, adopted older brother Lotor.

He grew up helping his mom on their farm with his siblings. They weren’t exactly poor but they definitely weren’t rich either. They had enough to keep the farm and buy clothes (since they grew their own food) with just enough extra for emergencies. One thing he never doubted was that he’s loved.

Keith isn't very popular and has few friends, but he has his family while Shiro is extremely popular with few real friends and a workaholic mom. 

The two of them live separate lives; Keith in a rural town going to a public school and Shiro in a city going to a private school.

All of that changes when they go to the same college.  


They're roommates...

Despite their different backgrounds, they become fast friends due to their shared interest in space. 

There are 3 other rooms in their dorm house; each with 2 beds. The other roommates are Lance and Hunk, Matt and Keith's brother, Lotor, and Allura and Matt’s 15 year old genius sister, Pidge. 

Hunk's looking to major in engineering, Allura in business, Matt in Science, Pidge technology, and Shiro, Lotor, and Lance are both undecided. 

Not all room assignments are without problems. Allura's neat as a pin, while Pidge is organized chaos. Lotor is very reserved and doesn't like having people in his room while Matt's VERY outgoing and likes to bring a new girl home every couple of weeks or so. Despite that, it still works out.  


The group quickly becomes a common sight on campus. They all get close to each other and for the first time, Shiro has close friends and Keith has friends who don't ditch him for greener pastures. Shiro and Keith become inseparable within the first year.

Their first year of college goes by and all of them return the following year; this time in dorm rooms that are basically small apartments. 

Allura, Pidge, Matt, and Lotor all get new roommates but Lance and Hunk stay roommates, as do Shiro and Keith. Its during the second year, Shiro and Keith start to develop feelings for one another. 

Keith notices that Shiro always spends holiday breaks on campus rather than going home. He'd noticed it the previous year too, but didn't think anything of it.  Keith asks after their finals and Shiro tells him about his home life. Shiro admits that he'd rather stay on campus alone for holiday breaks then be alone in an empty penthouse with just the household staff to keep him company. Keith then invites Shiro to come stay with his family a week during summer break.

That week is the best week of Shiro's life.

Shiro stays in the downstairs guest room on the farm and meets Keith's family beyond Lotor. He meets Keith's mom, his 15 year old sister, Acxa, his 12 year old sister Romelle, and their dog, Stella. 

Keith teaches him how to do some of the chores. Keith shows him around town and how to ride and care for a horse. Keith even shows Shiro the little swimming hole at the back of their property where they swim in the summer; though they're usually accompanied by Keith's siblings.  


On Shiro's last day, Keith and Shiro manage to sneak off to the waterhole to swim without Keith's siblings (thanks to some wing-manning from Lotor). Both hide blushes when the other removes their shirt before jumping in. They have fun for several hours before getting out to dry off as the sun goes down.

"I'm glad I stayed with you this week. It was fun."  


"I'm glad you enjoyed it here. We don't have much, but..." 

Shiro rests his hand on Keith's. 

"You have plenty."

Keith blushes as he looks down at their hands.

"Is... this ok?"

Keith smiles up at him before lacing their fingers together. 

"It is..."

Shiro smiles back shyly. 

They slowly lean in and their lips meet briefly. They pull away for a moment before Shiro pulls Keith in for another kiss.

Keith drives Shiro to the airport the following morning to see him off. They share one more kiss before Shiro heads for his gate. 

After that, they Skype each other every night for the rest of summer break before their third year starts.

~

By third year, they're supposed to declare a major. Everyone else in their group has already declared theirs. 

Everyone except for Shiro.

Hunk's major stays the same, but Matt chooses to specialize in medical science, Pidge specializes in medical technology, Keith chooses veterinary medicine, and Allura changes her major to law. Lotor picks journalism and after thinking long and hard, Lance decides to major in marine biology.

Shiro hasn't chosen yet, and the deadline is a week after the start of fall term. That's a month away.

"Mom wants me to major in business, politics, or medicine," Shiro tells Keith over Skype one night.

Keith raises an eyebrow. 

"You hate business stuff, C-Span puts you in a coma, and you have an irrational fear of both blood and vomit."

"I know, but what can I do?" 

"Well, what do **you** want?"

Shiro blinks. 

"What do you mean?"

"What do _**you** _want to major in?" 

"I...I don't know. No one's ever asked me what I want before."

"Well, think back to when you were a kid. What did you want to be when you grew up?"

Shiro thinks for a moment. 

"Honestly, I wanted to be that person who runs a planetarium."

"So major in astronomy. Hell, Pidge and Matt's dad owns a science lab with a planetarium."

"Mom thinks..."

"To hell with your mom, Shiro! Its your life and your decision, not hers!"

"She'll stop paying my tuition if I do." 

"Talk to Matt and Pidge. Maybe their parents might help you apply for a scholarship."

"She also pays room and board."

"Shiro, scholarships usually pay room and board. Besides, we can always live off campus. My scholarship will pay rent for me as long as I'm in college."

"What about food?" 

"My hometown is a 2 hour drive from campus. We could literally have Mom or Acxa drop fresh food off to us every weekend. Hell, we could even go pick it up ourselves."

Shiro looks at Keith.

"You're good at this."

"I'm used to thinking of ways to afford shit!"

Shiro sighs. 

"You really think I can pull this off?" 

Keith gives Shiro a determined smile through Skype. 

"I know you can."

Shiro gives him a determined smile back.

"I'll do it! We have a short window between me declaring my major and my mom finding out."

"Then we'd better work fast. You call Matt tomorrow morning, I'll start looking for small apartments near campus."  


~

Shiro calls Matt and explains the situation. Matt immediately puts his dad on the phone. Allura helps Keith look for apartments until Shiro can fly out and look with him. They find a small apartment with one room in a building owned by Coran, Allura's second dad. They quickly sign the lease while the Holts help Shiro apply for a grant that'll cover his tuition. Their friends help move their stuff. 

A week later, they're mostly unpacked when Shiro gets his scholarship acceptance letter. 

That's when Shiro gets a phone call.

Shiro glances at the caller ID.

"Its my mom."

Keith laces his fingers with Shiro. 

"You can do this." 

Shiro gives Keith's hand a squeeze before answering the phone.

His mom doesn't even wait for him to say hi.

"Takashi, can you explain why I just receive notice that you've chosen to major in... Astronomy?" 

His mom says it like she's referring to something gross she stepped in. 

"That's the major I chose, Mother."

"You were to major in either Business, Politics, or Medicine, Young Man!"

Shiro can practically see the pinched look on his mother's face. 

"I know, Mother. I chose what I wanted to major in, not what you wanted." 

"You ungrateful boy!" 

Shiro closes his eyes and holds tight to Keith's hand.

"I pay for your college and this is how you thank me?"

"I'm not a little kid, Mother. I'm a man."

"This selfish act of rebellion is that boy's doing, isn't it? That Keith." 

Shiro scowls. 

"Leave him out of this!"

"I knew he was a bad influence the moment I saw him. All his kind are." 

Shiro jumps to his feet.

"What does that mean, 'His kind'?!" 

"He's a bad influence on you, Takashi. I refuse to waste my money on this folly of yours." 

"You don't need to!" Shiro growls back.

He hangs up on his mom and throws his phone on the armchair angrily.

"I can't believe her!"

Shiro leans on the bar to the kitchen with a hand in his black hair. 

Keith silently wrap his arms around Shiro from behind. 

For a few moments they stand there quietly before Shiro turns in Keith's arms to wrap his own around Keith.

"You know... it just occurred to me that we're living together in a bedroom with a single bed and I haven't even taken you on a date yet."

Keith looks at him in amusement.

"What did you think me taking you to the swimming hole was?" 

Shiro laughs.

"Still, let me take you out to dinner tonight."

Keith looks up at him.

"Maybe wait a few weeks until your scholarship money comes in. Pretty sure your mom is cancelling your credit card as we speak."

He smirks then.

"I'll take you to dinner tonight."

"You smooth motherfucker..."

~

The school term starts and Shiro's scholarship pays for his tuition, books, and classes with only a little extra each month. Keith's scholarship pays their rent and such but its not easy. 

Keith has to teach Shiro how to sale shop and clip coupons. How to budget and save for emergencies.

Despite all the hardship, Shiro is happy with his choice. He does take Keith out to dinner like he promised. They go out on more dates in between classes and such; usually a picnic to watch the sunset (Keith taught Shiro how to go on a nice, inexpensive date too).

Just before the start of winter break, Shiro manages to save up enough to take Keith to see an exhibit at the museum on space travel Keith's been talking about for the past month. Keith is dragging him through the exhibit, excitedly rambling off random facts and details.

Shiro swears he's going to die from the cuteness of it. 

Keith hugs Shiro's arm as they're leaving the museum that night. 

"Thanks for today."

Keith leans his head against Shiro's shoulder. 

Shiro smiles softly at him and presses a kiss into Keith's hair.

"I'm glad I could take you here before winter break." 

"Oh, that reminds me!" Keith exclaims. "Mom invited you to stay with us for Christmas." 

"Well, who am I to say no?" 

Shiro kisses Keith on the lips tenderly.

~

They drive to Keith's farm the day after finals and Keith's mom welcome Shiro warmly. 

"Thanks Mrs. Kogane." 

"Call me Krolia." 

He puts his things down in the guest room like last time. 

The following morning, he helps them tend the animals.

As they enter the barn, Keith greets a solid black thoroughbred stallion in the first stall on the left.

"Hey Black." 

Black knickers as Keith open's the horse's stall. 

Keith slips the halter on Black's head and leads him out of his stall so it can be cleaned.

A loud impatient whinny is heard from the next stall over as a beautiful red bay stallion with a black mane sticks his head over the door. 

Keith laughs. 

"I haven't forgotten you, Red! I'll get you after your brother." 

Red stamps impatiently and snorts.

Keith laughs again and turns to Shiro. 

"Would you mind taking care of Black so I can get Mr. Impatient over there?" 

Shiro takes Black's halter and leads him to the pasture while Keith goes to get Red. 

Black knickers to Shiro. 

"Good to see you again too, Black."

Shiro digs in his pocket and pulls out a carrot. 

"I didn't forget you." 

Black snorts appreciatively as he eats the carrot. 

Shiro turns him out into the pasture, blanket and all before heading back inside to help Keith clean the stalls.

As Keith walks past Shiro with Red, Red snorts and chomps so suddenly at Shiro that he jumps. 

"Red, be nice!" Keith scolds. 

Together they clean the stalls two at a time. They go in for lunch before saddling Red and Black to go riding.

They talk about everything and nothing as they ride. They find a spot on a ridge overlooking Keith's farm and turn the horses loose before setting up their picnic. 

"Sorry about Red earlier. He's a bit protective of me." 

Shiro laughs.

"I can tell. Why is that?"

"Probably because I raised him."

Shiro sits up. 

"Really?" 

"Red is Black's younger brother. He was born the spring after by the same mare and stallion." 

"What happened?" 

"His mom got sick and died about a month after he was born. It happens more than you'd think.

"So you stepped in." 

Keith looks at the ground.

"I'll admit, I needed him as much as he needed me." 

Shiro waits for Keith to explain. 

"I was not in a good place at the time. I was a sophomore in high school. You know I didn't have many friends and those I had often bailed within a month. What I didn't tell you was that I was also being bullied at the time too. I was short for my age growing up and after Pop died I was always working either part-time jobs or doing yard work for neighbors to bring in some extra spending money. Despite that, I still got straight As. I was in all honors classes too. Some of the kids at school took issue with it so... For a while, I didn't like myself." 

Shiro puts an arm around Keith's shoulders and pulls the other man into his side. 

"Then Red was born."  


"His mom was my favorite mare, Cinnamon. Red's a male Cinnamon. Literally. From his red coat to his temperament. Cinnamon was as fiery and free-spirited and ornery as Red is. Yet for some reason, I was the only one she would let near her. I was the only one who could enter her stall without getting charged and stamped at. I was the only one she'd let ride her. Everyone else would get thrown off if they somehow managed to get on her back. Pop used to say she could sense a kindred spirit in me."  


Keith smiles to himself.

"One time, one of my bullies followed me home from school. Cinnamon was having none of it. She ran him off."

"I can see why she was your favorite." 

"That was the year she had Black and his twin sister, Blue. The following year, she had Red."

"You said he was born during spring?" 

"Right on the equinox," Keith tells him. "A month later, Cinnamon got sick. We did everything we could to save her, but in the end..." 

"You took care of Red after that." 

"Named him too. Red isn't even his full name."

"What is it then?"

"Red Chili Pepper." 

"Is Black short for something?"

"Black Hat. He takes after their dad, Top Hat in both looks and personality. Their sister's name is short for Blue Silk Hat. Her personality is kindof a mix of both parents, though she looks like Top Hat's mom, Blue Star."

"What about your other horses?" 

"Well, the only other horses on the farm other then them are Red, Blue, and Black's older half sister through Cinnamon, and half sister and half brother through Top Hat and their respective mothers. Their brother is 1/2 draft horse. He's HUGE."

They return to the house not long after that. 

Christmas Eve morning, they wake up to a blanket of snow on the ground. 

By "wake up" I mean Keith was woken up by Romelle jumping on him excitedly while yelling, "Its snowing!" over and over again.

"I've... never seen snow before coming to Oregon..." Shiro admits while sitting on the front steps after breakfast. "Well, snow that sticks to the ground anyway. It rarely snows like this in Houston." 

"You lucked out then," Keith tells him. "It rarely snows in December here. Usually we don't get snow until January."

Keith gets hit with two snow balls then. 

They turn to see Acxa standing with Romelle holding snowballs in their hands. Both of them have mischievous looks on their faces. 

"Oh its on, now!" 

Keith quickly makes a snowball and throws it at his sisters.

A snowball fight erupts between Keith's sister vs Shiro and Keith with Lotor happily cheering on both sides from the porch. 

By lunchtime they're soaked. They change quickly before eating lunch.  


The following morning they're woken up again by Romelle, only now she's shouting "Its Christmas!". 

They open presents with Keith's dog, Stella watching nearby. 

There aren't a whole lot of presents Shiro notices (1 per person from each family member), but they're all meaningful.

After presents and breakfast, they do the morning chores before briefly visiting the cemetery where Keith's dad is buried. 

Shiro walks out the back door of the farmhouse before dinner and sees Keith walking around outside as a gentle snow falls around him. Shiro feels his breath catch in his chest as he watches Keith. 

Keith spots Shiro staring at him on the back steps and blushes at the attention. 

Shiro walks out and wraps his arms around Keith, holding him in a gentle embrace.  


Keith completes the embrace, tucking his head under Shiro's chin. 

After a while, Shiro pulls back a little to guide Keith's chin up so he can brush their lips together tenderly. When they pull back, Shiro wipes a snowflake off Keith's nose with the tip of his scarf.

Keith smiles at the gesture and looks up at Shiro. 

"I love you..." 

Shiro smiles back. 

"I love you, too." 

Its the first time they've said the words, but it feels as natural as breathing.

~

As New Years Eve approaches, Keith learns the rest of their friends are back at school for New Years. Keith invites them to stay in the small cabin next to the house for New Years (its literally 1 small central room with a couch, two bedrooms, and a bathroom). Matt declines to spend New Years with his steady girlfriend, but Allura, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk accept.

"You weren't kidding when you said you lived on a farm," Pidge remarks. 

"Seriously, this place is awesome, man!" Hunk adds. 

Keith practically glows with pride at the compliment.

"Thanks guys, glad you like it."

Lance looks around thoughtfully.

"What's your primary export?"

"Chickens, turkeys, apples, potatoes, corn, and honey."

"We're primarily sugar cane, bananas, and corn ourselves."  


"That's right! I forgot your family has a farm too," Hunk comments.

"No animals?" Keith asks.

"I mean, we have chickens and a few cows, but they're mostly used for food and fertilizer respectively."

"We have a small herd of cows too for the same reason. Them plus the horses."

Keith turns to the others.

"Go put your stuff down and come back out. Its only 3 and we have time to do something before dinner." 

As they head into the cabin, Keith remembers. 

"Oh yeah, Lance, Allura, pick different rooms. House rules!" 

"It'll be just like our first year!" Allura says amiably.

"Anyone want to go horseback riding?" Keith asks as he and Shiro wait for the others to put their stuff down.

"Er...I've never been before," Hunk admits nervously. 

"Same," Pidge adds.

"I did a little riding as a kid, but its been a while," Allura tells him. 

"I have though," Lance states. "We had a gelding right up until I went to college. He's still alive, but he's too old to ride anymore."  


Keith grins.

"I have the perfect horses for all of you. If you'd like, you can ride them every time you visit. Its up to you though. If you guys want to do something else, we will." 

After confirming they all want to go riding, Keith leads them to the barn.

He immediately leads Allura to the stall across from Red with a large solid white mare with a curly white mane and tail.

"Allura, I'm going to put you on White Rose here." 

"She's so pretty." Allura breaths. 

Keith laughs when the mare tosses her head. 

"White appreciates your compliment."

Keith then leads Pidge to the stall to the right of White with a short cream colored thoroughbred mare.

"Pidge, I'm going to put you on Green Bonnet here. Green's a lot smaller than her brothers and sisters and is a little gentler than Black, Red, White, and Blue." 

Pidge notices the horse's eyes. 

"Her eyes are green!" 

"That's where she gets her name. I'm told its rare."

Keith leads Hunk to a stall across from Green with the biggest palomino stallion he's ever seen in it. 

"This is Yellow Nightcap." 

"He's huge." 

Keith laughs. 

"Yellow's half Gypsy Vanner so yeah he is. Gentlest horse on the farm though. He'll break his leg before stepping on you."

Keith leads Lance to the stall across from Black with a blue roan mare.

"Lance, since you have a little more experience, I'm going to put you on Blue here." 

Lance looks at Keith.

"Just 'Blue'?"

"If you want to be picky, it's Blue Silk Hat."

Keith and Shiro are teaching the others to saddle their horses when Romelle runs out to the barn. 

"Keith, can I come with Butterfly?" 

"Did Mom say you could?" 

Romelle nods. 

"If you can get him saddled, sure." 

"Yay!" 

Romelle runs off to the stall at the very end.

Keith looks at his friends.

"You guys don't mind, do you? She doesn't get to spend a lot of time with me these day because of school." 

"Of course not!" Hunk says for everyone as Romelle pulls a dapple gray pony from the stall and leads him outside.

"You and your sister are close," Allura remarks while they wait. 

"We are," Keith tells her. "Romelle was a toddler when Mom and Dad adopted her."

"What happened to her birth parents?" Lance asks. 

"Car accident. Her mom was my mom's best friend."

"What about Lotor? He's adopted too right?" Hunk asks. 

Keith crosses his arms.

"He is. The sperm and egg donor who created him don't really deserve to be mentioned." 

"Holy shit, Keith. Tell us how you really feel!" Lance laughs. 

"Just guessing abusive?" Allura asks.

"And neglectful."

"Do you know what happened?" 

"The short version is apparently Lotor wasn't the son his parents wanted him to be so they kicked him out. Dad found him 2 years later, tracked down his parents, and had them sign over custody to him. He's been in our family ever since."

"That's why the two of you started college the same year even though he's two years older," Pidge comments. "I thought it might be something like that."

Romelle rides up on her pony then.

"We're ready!"

They mount their horses (Keith and Shiro have to give Pidge and Hunk a leg up respectively) and Keith leads them out on the easier trail. 

~

They get back in time to wash up for dinner. After dinner they go to the back pasture to stargaze now that the Christmas snow has melted.

"You can see so many stars out here," Pidge breathes.

They hear the sound of something big walking toward them.

"Er... anyone else hear that?" Hunk says nervously.

"Its either a horse or a cow," Keith tells them.

Sure enough, they hear a low Mooo! as a cow walks up beside them.  


"Hey Kosmo," Keith greets her.  


She promptly lays down beside Keith and puts her head in his lap, earning a chorus of awws from Keith's friends.  


"Dude, I think you're a Disney prince..." Hunk says as Pidge takes a picture.

Keith starts petting her head as she falls asleep.

"Guess I'm celebrating the New Year out here this year," Keith tells them wryly.

Fortunately, Kosmo wakes up and moves 15 minutes before midnight.

At midnight, Shiro gently pulls Keith in for a kiss while Allura grabs the front of Lance's shirt and yanks him in for one herself. 

They go to bed not long after that.

~

Winter term starts without any problems and before Keith knows it, it's mid-February. 

"What do you want to do for your birthday?" 

Shiro looks up from his homework. 

"Hmm?" 

"Its a Leap Year, right? What do you want to do?" 

Shiro shoots him a smirk. 

"You."

Keith laughs. 

"I mean other than me." 

"Honestly, I'll be happy with anything. Mother was always busy so she'd get me the same lame pen every Leap Year." 

Shiro's face falls at the mention of his mother. They haven't spoken since that phone call at the start of the school year.

Keith caresses Shiro's face with his hand. 

Shiro leans into the touch and covers Keith's hand with his own. 

Neither of them speaks.

"Hey, why don't we do stuff with the others after class that day and then that night I'll take you out for your birthday?"

Shiro smiles up at Keith. 

"Sounds good to me." 

The day of his birthday, Shiro and Keith head to Allura's for a small party with a birthday cake. That night, Keith takes him out to dinner before taking him to see a play in town Shiro's been wanting to see.

Keith hugs Shiro's arm as they head for the lobby afterward.

"Did you have a good birthday?" 

Shiro smiles down at him.

"I did. Thank you."

Shiro kisses Keith. 

As he pulls away, he sees something out of the corner of his eye. He looks and freezes.

Keith follows his gaze and immediately knows why.

There, standing before them in the now empty lobby is Ayumi Shirogane. 

"Mother..." 

"So the rumors are true then." 

There's a pinched look on her face as she looks at Shiro with disapproval clear in her eyes. 

"You..." 

She glances at Keith.

"...with another man."

Shiro looks his mother directly in the eyes. 

"That's right, Mother. I am." 

Shiro holds his head high and his voice is strong under his mother's disapproving look, but Keith can feel Shiro's hand shaking in his own. 

He gives Shiro's hand a reassuring squeeze.

She looks at Shiro.

"I'm disappointed in you, Takashi." 

"What else is new? I'm never good enough for you."

"After everything I've done for you, this is how you thank me?" 

Keith cuts in.

"Hey! Today's his day, not yours! Do this another time!"

"And YOU!" 

She looks down her nose at Keith as she continues. 

"I should have put a stop to this a long time ago... but corrupting my son. I knew you were trouble the moment I heard you two were getting close. I knew you were a bad influence. All **_your_** kind are."

Keith raises an eyebrow at her but before he can say anything, Shiro steps protectively in front of him.

"If being loved and supported unconditionally makes Keith a bad influence on me, then I'm glad he "corrupted me"."

She looks back at Shiro. 

"As of this moment, you are no longer my son." 

"As if I ever was your son." 

Her posture doesn't change and neither does the look on her face, but Keith can tell from looking at her eyes that Shiro's comment stung.

She recovers quickly. 

"Don't come to me when this act of foolishness puts you on the street."

Keith glares at her.

"News flash Lady! He's doing just fine without you!" 

She sniffs haughtily before she turns and leaves.

The moment she's out of sight, Shiro's shoulders slump. 

Keith turns to him. He doesn't need to ask if Shiro's ok. His face and body language is saying he isn't. 

Keith gives Shiro's hand a squeeze. 

"Come on... Lets get you home."

Keith more or less drags Shiro back to their apartment. 

After Keith takes Shiro's shoes off, Shiro walks into the bedroom and sits on the bed with a sigh. As Keith removes his own shoes, his blood boils at how defeated Shiro looks with his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

Today is Shiro's day, not hers! How dare she make today about her on the one year Shiro's birthday occurs?! How dare she make him feel like this is in anyway his fault! 

Keith says none of this however. He knows it won't help. 

However, he refuses to let Shiro's birthday end like this.

Keith walks up to Shiro and gently caresses Shiro's cheek before tilting his chin up. When Shiro looks up at him, Keith captures his lips as he straddles Shiro's lap. Keith holds Shiro's face in his hands as he deepens the kiss. Shiro willingly opens for Keith who immediately. Keith gently pushes Shiro until he's on his back without breaking the kiss. Their tongues dance as their breathing picks up. Their hearts are racing when they come up for air briefly. 

"Is this ok?" Keith breathes into Shiro's lips.

Shiro answers by pulling Keith into another heated kiss and rolling them over so that he's on top.

Late that night, they're both laying naked in each other's arms. 

"Happy Birthday, Shiro." 

Shiro smiles without looking at Keith. He holds the shorter man in his arms as they fall asleep.

~

The following morning, Keith and Shiro tell the rest of the group what happened and they all rally around Shiro. 

"Its her loss, dude!" Lance tells him while Hunk gives Shiro the biggest hug. 

"You know you're always welcome with us," Matt tells him. 

Shiro smiles. 

"Thanks guys."

~

Winter term seems to fly by after that and before they know it, it's April. 

At Pidge's birthday party, everyone is talking about their plans for Spring Break. 

"Hunk and I going to stay with Allura and her dads down in Northern California," Lance says.

"Pidge and I are going home to Olympia," Matt tells them.

"Mom and Dad want to meet Sky," Pidge tells them. 

"Mother invited Shiro to come stay with us once more," Lotor tells them.

"I'm kinda excited," Shiro admits. "That guest room is starting to feel like home to me."

The second week in April comes and with it, Spring Break. 

Shiro, Keith, and Lotor head back to the Kogane farm right after their classes get out on Thursday. 

Friday it rains the whole day, so as soon as the morning chores are done, they all stay inside that day.

Saturday it rains too, but Keith and Shiro end up stuck in the barn. With nothing else to do, Keith shows Shiro the hayloft. 

"Growing up, I used to hang out up here when I wanted to get away from my siblings," Keith tells Shiro while laying in the hay. "I love them dearly, but sometimes..."

"They can be a bit much?" Shiro guesses amiably. 

Keith nods. 

"They all know I'm up here, but Lotor hates getting dirty unnecessarily, Acxa's afraid of heights taller than a horse, and Romelle is claustrophobic and the loft is usually a little cramped."

Shiro laughs. 

"Perfect escape." 

"Mom's the only one not afraid to come up here but she respects this is my spot for privacy. With three siblings, one of whom I share a room with, there isn't a whole lot of that." 

Shiro raises a mischievous eyebrow and leans suggestively over Keith. 

"Does that mean..."

He drags his lips across Keith's.

"We don't have to worry about your mom or siblings until the rain lets up?" 

Keith grabs the front of Shiro's shirt and pulls him down. 

"It sure does..."

~

It rains for the next two hours and while they mostly keep their clothes on (sex in a hayloft is really not as hot as it's made out to be) they make out the entire time. The rain clears up just long enough for them to head to the house before it picks up again.

It finally stops raining Monday. Instead, it's a little warm. 

They take Red and Black for a ride up the mountainside while Lotor, Acxa, Romelle, and Krolia take the other horses through woods around the farm. 

They come home for lunch and get back to the house as Keith's mom and siblings are heading out the door in swim clothes. 

"Heading for the swimming hole?" Keith asks. 

"Yep!" Romelle tells him. 

"We'll only be there for an hour or so," Keith's mom tells them. 

"Alright Mom."

Keith makes them lunch and they eat in the kitchen. 

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen your room here," Shiro points out as they finish. 

"Its literally my half of our first year dorm plus Lotor's half of his and Matt's." 

"Still." 

"I guess I can take you up there real quick."

Keith takes Shiro upstairs to the first door parallel to the stairs. 

From the door, Shiro can see two twin beds; one in the corner to the left of the window with the foot of the bed facing the door, the other to the right of the door with the foot of the bed facing the window. There's two dressers, one against the wall to the right of the window, the other to the right of the door between it and the bed. One side has posters of jets and spaceships with stars above the bed, the other has only pictures of a cat, who happens to be curled up on the bed.

"That's Kova, Lotor's cat." 

Kova lifts his head black striped head and gives Shiro a halfhearted "Mrah" before going back to sleep. 

Shiro laughs.

"Hello to you too."

"Lotor doesn't really like other people in our room, so we should probably head back downstairs."

As they head downstairs, Shiro sees a bunch of pictures hanging on the wall. School pictures, baby pictures, you name it, its on the wall. 

They get down to the living room.

"Is that your dad?" Shiro asks while pointing to the wedding picture above the fireplace.

"That's him."  


"What was he like?" 

"Most caring person you could ever meet." 

"How'd he meet your mom?" 

"Her car flipped over into the ditch in front of the farm one night. Nothing serious, but she still broke an ankle. Dad brought her inside and patched her up."

"He didn't take her to a hospital?" 

Keith shakes his head. 

"Nearest hospital's over an hour away. Our next door neighbor at the time was the town doctor. Dad called him over to fix her leg. They fell in love and she never left. She had no where else to go and was looking to start a new life."

Shiro moves over to a shadow box with a medal, a firefighter shield, and a picture of Keith's dad.

"That's the medal they gave us at Dad's funeral." 

"May I ask what happened?"

"Electrical fire in an office building. He and his partner were searching the building when his partner collapsed from the heat. Dad picked him up to carry him out, but the floor collapsed out from under him. He got his partner out, but he died of his injuries at the hospital."

"How old were you?" 

"A little younger than Romelle. Anyway, Dad was named a hero by the town and because of it, Lotor and I have what's called a Hero Scholarship. When/if my sisters go to college, they'll get one too."

Shiro looks back at the mantle. 

"We have that in common, you know." 

Keith looks up at him and waits. 

"My father died too. He wasn't exactly a hero, but still..." 

"How old were you?" 

"Seven." 

"Do you know what happened?" 

"Car Accident. I don't know anything beyond that."

Keith's mom and siblings come home then. 

"Have fun swimming?" Keith asks. 

"Indeed we did," Lotor tells him as he heads upstairs to shower and change. 

"The water is nice if you want to swim for a few hours," Keith's mom tells them as she and Romelle head upstairs too.

"I could go for a swim," Keith remarks. 

"Er... I didn't bring a suit?" Shiro admits.

Keith raises an eyebrow.

"I fail to see a problem."

Shiro laughs.

"Oh, fuck you Keith." 

"You may do so at the swimming hole," they hear from upstairs. 

"Mom!" Keith exclaims as he and Shiro blush hard.

"Hey, you both walked into that one," Acxa comments as she and his brother and sister laugh. 

Keith sticks his tongue out. 

~

They quickly change (Shiro wears a pair of cargo shorts he doesn't mind getting wet) and head for the swimming hole. When they get there, they quickly remove their shirts and jump in. 

"I swear your whole family wants us to bang while I'm here." 

"I mean, they aren't the only ones," Keith tells him as he leans against the side of the swimming hole.

Shiro raises an eyebrow at Keith. 

"If I didn't know better..." 

He lowers his voice in a way he knows sends a shiver up Keith's spine as he wades over to him. 

"I'd say you and your family planned this." 

He plants his hands on either side of Keith's head.

"Well?"

Keith looks up as Shiro leans into his space. 

"I mean..." 

Keith pulls him into a lazy kiss, pausing occasionally to speak. 

"We didn't..." 

Keith gropes Shiro through his shorts, earning a hiss of pleasure from him.

"But I won't say I don't like the idea."

Keith grips the waistband of Shiro's cargo shorts and pulls the larger man flush against his body so that they're skin on skin as they kiss. He gropes Shiro through his shorts again as their tongues slip into each other's mouth. Shiro's breath hitches as he grabs Keith's ass. Keith quickly unbuttons Shiro's pants and slips a hand down the front to stroke his cock. 

Shiro's breath hitches again and he pants so hard it breaks their kiss as Keith works his hand in a way they both know will make Shiro cum way too fast. 

"Keith..." 

Shiro moves Keith over to where the rock edge of the swimming hole is even with his ass.

"Slow down, baby..."  


Keith removes his hand and pulls Shiro into another kiss that sets fire to their veins.

Shiro slips an arm around Keith to keep him against Shiro as he pushes his tongue into Keith's mouth, earning him a sharp intake of breath from Keith. Shiro slides a knee between Keith's legs and his other hand roams Keith's body, drawing gasps and moans as Keith grinds himself against Shiro's legs.  


"I want you in me so badly," Keith breathes. 

"We don't have..." 

Keith smirks up at Shiro and fishes a bottle of lube of his pocket. 

"You _really_ want this." 

Keith nods eagerly.

Shiro puts the bottle in his pocket as his lips meet Keith's. Their tongues dance as Shiro lifts Keith up onto the rock edge. 

"Lift up, baby." 

Keith does and Shiro pulls Keith's trunks off and tosses them on the rock behind Keith.

"Looks like I'm not the only one whose eager," Keith teases as Shiro strokes him. 

"I've been fantasizing about fucking you here since last summer." 

"Well stop fantasizing and make your dreams happen."

Shiro growls a little as he moves Keith closer to the edge. He gives Keith's cock a few more strokes before ducking his head to slide his tongue up Keith's shaft. Keith bucks his hips when Shiro swallows him down to the root.

"Shiro..."

Keith bucks again and moans as Shiro slides the tip of his tongue through the slit of Keith's cock. Keith buries his fingers in Shiro's hair and moans as Shiro bobs his head while curving his tongue around Keith as he works. Shiro works him until he tastes the pre-cum from Keith's cock. He pulls off Keith with a final lick, drawing a whimper from Keith when he does. 

Shiro pulls Keith down just enough to capture his boyfriend's lips with his own.

"Turn around, baby." 

Keith shivers at the tone in Shiro's voice as he does what he's told. 

Shiro glides his hands up Keith's sides and his back. When Shiro positions himself flush against Keith's back, Keith understands why.

"There..." Shiro breathes into Keith's ear while rubbing his still clothed erection against the cleft of Keith's ass. "Knew it would be the perfect height." 

Keith straightens against him as Shiro moves his hands across Keith's now naked body.

"You HAVE thought about this." Keith breathes. 

"Frequently." 

Shiro moves a hand up to gently caress Keith's neck. 

"After I left last summer..." 

He glides the other hand down Keith's abs. 

"All I could think..."

He presses a kiss into Keith's shoulder. 

"Was what I would do to you here..."

His hand caresses down lower to stroke Keith's dick; drawing a gasp from him.

"...If given the chance."

Keith glances back at Shiro breathlessly. 

"Tell me." 

Keith's breath hitches as Shiro slides his erection against Keith's ass again. Shiro pulls Keith back just enough so that his cock isn't rubbing or hitting the rocks.

"I'd position you just like this." 

Shiro gently presses his hand between Keith's shoulder blades. Keith willingly bends over the flat rock in front of him. 

"Then... I'd do this..."

Keith feels Shiro slide one hand up Keith's back while the other spreads Keith's ass. Shiro kneels down behind Keith with a smirk and Keith gasps and grips the stone as Shiro drags his tongue across Keith's hole. He keens as Shiro repeats the motion over and over again.

"Sh...Shiro..." 

Shiro laves at Keith's hole a few more times before pushing his tongue inside. Pre-cum leaks from Keith as he moans helplessly as Shiro does amazing things with his tongue.

"Ta...Takashi..."

Its an unwritten signal of sorts. Shiro is only ever "Takashi" when Keith is about to come. 

Shiro immediately withdraws from Keith. 

Keith whimpers. He knows exactly what Shiro's doing and all he can do is enjoy the ride.

"Once I got you close to bursting." 

Keith shivers when he hears Shiro open the cap for the lube.

"I'd start to slowly finger you open, little by little." 

Shiro pushes his slicked finger past the ring of muscle. He moves agonizingly slow as he pumps his finger in and out.

Keith moans helplessly as Shiro slowly adds a second finger. Shiro slowly preps Keith more and more, occasionally brushing Keith's prostate; making him gasp and tighten a little. 

After a while, Shiro withdraws his hand from Keith.

"Once I'd opened you up enough."

Shiro adds more lube to his cock before lining it up with Keith's hole. 

"I'd fuck you so good, you'd see stars." 

Shiro hilts himself with a single thrust drawing a breathy "yes!" from the man beneath him. Shiro pulls out slowly before thrusting back in once more. They continue like this, Shiro thrusting slowly but deliberately while Keith moans and gasps for more. Shiro angles their hips just right and slowly picks up momentum, hitting Keith's prostate every time. 

Keith moans Shiro's given name as Shiro continuously nails his prostate. All he can think about is how good it feels. Pleasure coils in his belly, growing stronger and stronger with each thrust. 

Shiro feels his own pleasure build with each thrust.

"T...Takashi..." 

Shiro wraps a hand around Keith's dick and starts to rapidly pump it. 

"That's it, baby! That's it! Cum for me!" 

That's all Keith needs to go over the edge. He cums with a long, unending moan that turns into Shiro's given name. 

Shiro follows not long after with a moan of his own. He continues thrusting through both of their orgasms, filling Keith to the brim with Shiro's seed. When their respective orgasms end, Shiro pulls out of Keith before wrapping his arms around the man beneath him.

"Wow!" Keith says breathlessly. 

"Seconded." 

They laugh as they both come down from their respective highs. Keith's boneless as Shiro moves him back into the water to clean him off. Once Shiro finishes cleaning him, he wraps his arms around Keith and holds him close.

"I will never look at the swimming hole the same again." 

Shiro laughs. 

After a while, it starts to get chilly. 

"We should head back..." Keith tells Shiro. 

Shiro helps Keith climb out and grab his swim trunks. Once Keith is dressed, they walk hand in hand back to the house.

~

Wednesday morning, around 2 am, Keith is awakened by the sound of the fire alarm blaring downstairs with Stella barking. 

That's when Keith smells the smoke. 

He sits bolt upright in bed and immediately coughs as smoke fills the room.

Keith launches out of bed and runs to his brother's bed next to the window where Kova is trying to wake him up. 

"Lotor! Lotor, wake up! The house is on fire." 

When the 23 year old finally wakes up, Keith all but carries him out into the hall with Kova. 

The smoke is worse in the hall.

"Get mom! I'll get Acxa and Romelle." 

Lotor runs to their mom's room to the left to find her already awake while Keith runs to the right. 

"Acxa, Romelle!" 

Keith gasps when he sees the far wall with the window toward the backyard completely on fire.

"Let's go! Let's go!" 

Acxa runs out of the room but Romelle is frozen in fear. 

Keith effortlessly scoops up his youngest sister and carries her out into the hall. 

"Keith!" Romelle cries. 

"I got ya, Romi," Keith tells her, using the old nickname he gave her when she was little.

They get downstairs and Keith gasps when he sees the entire kitchen is also engulfed in flames with said flames spreading quickly to the hallway. 

"Acxa, take Romelle! I need to help Shiro!" 

Keith hands Romelle to Acxa before dashing down the hall to the guest room.

Keith gets to the door and gasps when he sees the doorknob has melted. 

"Shiro! Shiro, are you ok!?" 

"I'm fine, but the door!" 

Keith immediately grabs his father's old fireman ax where it's hung above the back door. 

"Stand back from the door!"

Shiro does what he's told and with a few solid swings of his dad's ax, Keith has the door open. 

"Come on!" 

Fire cuts off their route to the front door so Keith grabs Shiro's hand and pulls him out the back door.

"Go!" 

As they're running around the side of the house by the kitchen and living room, the entire chimney breaks away from the house, falling right as they're passing under it and its too late to dodge it.

There's a shrill squeal before a flash of russet and Keith is shoved out of the path of the chimney just in time. 

Keith looks up and sees Red squealing with rage as he rears up between Keith and the fallen chimney. He looks over at Shiro next to him and sees Black standing between him and said chimney.

"Thanks," they say in unison. 

"Keith!" 

They turn and continue running to where Keith's family stands with Stella and Kova, Black and Red following behind them loyally. Keith and his family hug.

When they pull away, Keith gasps as he looks back at the house. 

The roof is completely engulfed in flames, as is the back and left side of the house. 

"No..." 

Keith stares in shock as the fire quickly spreads to the living room and front porch.

Shiro pulls Keith into his arms and Keith turns into them, squeezing his eyes shut and burying his face in Shiro's chest while gripping him with his right hand. 

"Is everyone alright?" 

They turn to see the neighbor across the street running up.

"My son was letting the dog out when he saw," Mrs. Griffin tells them when she and said son reach them. 

"We're fine, Helen," Keith's mom tells them. "Everyone got out safely. 

The son approaches Keith still in Shiro's arms but Red steps in between. He stops where he is, minding the horse, before looking at Keith again. 

"I could see the flames from our porch," he tells them. "Glad everyone's ok." 

Keith looks at him. 

"Thanks, James."

Just then there's a great CRACK! that draws their attention back to the house. They look just in time to see the entire house collapse in on itself. 

That's when they hear the sirens from the fire trucks.

The firefighters quickly start putting water on the still smoldering house as the chief approaches them. 

"Krolia. It's good to see you and the family again. Wish it were under better circumstances." 

"Likewise," Krolia tells them. 

"Do you know the point of origin?"

"Kitchen," Keith tells him as he pulls out of Shiro's embrace. 

"Considering how fast it went up, I'll bet it was electrical," Chief theorizes. "Its a miracle no one was hurt."

"My son Keith made sure everyone did," Krolia tells him. 

"Did he now?"

"Indeed," Lotor confirms. "When Romelle froze, Keith carried her downstairs." 

"When he saw the fire was spreading to the guestroom, he gave her to me so he could go help our guest," Acxa adds.

"Good thing, too. The doorknob to the guestroom melted and the windows were too small for me to climb out," Shiro says fondly as he looks at his boyfriend. 

"No need to ask how," Chief says with a smile.

He points to Keith's left hand.

Keith looks. He's still holding his dad's ax. 

"Your dad would be proud of you, son," Chief tells him. 

Krolia looks at Keith. 

"Keith, Shiro, why don't you two take Red and Black to their stalls before getting your injuries treated?" 

"Alright," Shiro answers.

As his family and the Griffins walk toward the trucks, Keith lifts the ax in his hand and looks at it. 

"Thanks, Dad."

~

Keith and Shiro bring the horses to the barn, only to find they'd worked together with Yellow to kick the entire wall with their doors open. Yellow is standing in the middle of the center aisle munching hay out of his stall.  


"Looks like you three will be sleeping outside until we can get this fixed." 

They turn the three horses loose in the pasture next to the barn before heading back.

Morning dawns and the house has stopped smoldering. 

The family and Shiro sits in the guest cabin as Keith's mom talks on the phone. Covering the right side of Keith's face is a square bandage over where a large splinter cut Keith's face as he broke down the guestroom door.

Keith's mom hangs up. 

"What did the insurance company say?" Keith asks as Krolia sits down with them. 

"The good news is the insurance will cover the costs to rebuild the house," Krolia says. "The bad news is the soonest we can start construction is June. In the meantime, we'll be living here in the cabin."

"At least Lotor and I live on and near campus respectively," Keith says. 

"The Griffins have also offered to let us stay in their house while the house is being built," Krolia adds. "It does mean you three will have to head back earlier than we'd like."

"We understand, Mother," Lotor tells her.

Keith is silent when they walk to the car. Keith's mom pulls him into a hug. 

"I'm proud of you, son." 

Keith hugs his mom back quietly.

"Here, take this with you."

When she pulls back, she hands him his dad's ax.

The car ride back is silent as Shiro drives Keith's car home while he and Lotor doze off, Kova snoozing in his carrier next to Lotor (Lotor has to bring Kova back to campus due to Mrs. Griffin's cat allergies). 

Lotor and Keith hug as they drop Lotor and Kova off at Lotor's dorm.

~

Word spreads quickly through their group quickly. They return to campus to help however they can, but there isn't much they can do or say, beyond Hunk personally making meals for them so Shiro and Keith don't have to (because Keith is by far the better cook).

A dark cloud hangs over Keith as classes start again. He's not talking as much and is often lost in his own thoughts. He goes back every weekend to help clean up and comes back more and more depressed. 

For Shiro, it hurts to see Keith hurting like this.

Yeah the house will be rebuilt and all the documents that matter (deed, birth certificates, adoption papers, marriage certificate, etc) survived thanks to Keith's dad putting them in a fireproof cabinet in the basement, but that doesn't change what was lost. Countless generations of history (the farm had been in Keith's family since the Oregon Trail) and 21+ years worth of memories gone overnight. Family albums, holidays, birthdays, personal items, even the shadow box for Keith's dad; all gone.

A month after the fire, the others all decide to go with Keith one weekend to help with the clean up. 

"Are you sure? My mom and sisters are using the guest cabin so Lotor and I are literally sleeping in tents as we help with the cleanup."

"So?" Allura asks. "Its just a little dirt. It'll wash off." 

"Also, my brothers and sisters are flying up from Cuba to come help and our camping tents are huge." 

Keith looks at Lance like he sprouted a third head.

"Wait, what? Why?"  


Lance looks at him plainly.

"In the last month, have you guys been tending your crops and such?"

Keith sighs. 

"No, we've been too busy taking care of the house and basic maintenance," he admits. 

"Exactly," Lance says. "You guys _**need**_ that income. Just leave it to us."

"But why?" 

"Farmers helping other farmers in times of need is a major cornerstone of farming, or so my parents always said," Lance tells him. 

Keith gives them a grateful look. 

"Thanks guys."

Friday morning, they all drive to Keith's farm. Lance arrives last with his two brothers and two sisters. 

"That's Marco, Veronica, Luis, and Rachel," Lance introduces. 

"Are your folks ok having you here?" Keith asks. 

"Our parents have my wife and kids to help," Marco says.

"So, what should we do?" Lance asks. 

"The apple orchard mostly takes care of itself, the chickens and turkeys have already been fed today, and Romelle's the beekeeper here," Keith tells them. "So just plant the corn and potatoes. I'll show you where the fields and tractor are."

While Keith shows Lance and his siblings where the tractor is, Allura, Pidge, Hunk, and Matt help Shiro and Lotor sift through what still needs to be moved to the dumpster that was placed on the property. Keith returns and starts working in silence.

Around noon, they all take a break for lunch. Lance's siblings all eat with Lotor and Acxa while the seven friends sit in one of the fields. 

"We finished planting and fertilizing," Lance tells Keith. 

"Thanks again for that," Keith says.

"I wish we could do more, man," Hunk says. 

"Seriously, we know what this place means to you," Pidge adds. 

After lunch they finish clearing the last of the rubble. 

As they clear the last of it, Keith freezes in his place. 

"Keith?" 

Shiro moves to look and immediately knows why.

The shadow box for Keith's dad, only the picture's been burnt and the medal melted. 

The dam breaks. 

Tears are rolling down Keith's cheeks and he sniffles as he holds whats left of it in his hands. Shiro pulls Keith into his arms and holds him as the first sobs wrack his body. Keith grips Shiro as he empties his heart into Shiro's chest. The others quickly wrap Keith in a group hug. 

For several minutes they sit in what's left of Keith's basement until Keith cries himself out. When Keith falls silent, Shiro looks to see he cried himself to sleep.

His heart aches at it. 

"I've got him guys." 

Shiro slips an arm under Keith's knees and back and lifts him into his arms. He silently carries Keith up the stone steps of the basement toward the horse barn. 

"God, I wish there was more we can do for him!" Hunk says in frustration.

"Come on, let's put this with the rest," Pidge says. 

They take the shadow box to the cabin where they rest of the salvage has been placed. They set it down on the couch and look around the cabin at the few things that were salvaged. The only thing salvaged that isn't burnt are a pair of fireproof filing cabinets (one with 2 doors, the other with 4) as well as 3 fireproof chests. Only the shorter of the filing cabinets is labeled. 

"What are in the rest of these?" Matt asks.

They try to open them, but find they're all locked.

"I got this, kids," Pidge says. "Allura, you got a hair pin?" 

Allura hands her one and Pidge successfully picks the locks. 

"How do you know how to do that?" Hunk asks. 

Pidge shrugs. 

"I thought it would impress girls."

Pidge gasps when she opens one of the chests to find an ancient looking camera and rolls of film. 

"This is a camera from the early 1900s!" she exclaims.

"Look at all of these negatives!" Matt says. "I think these are all taken here."

As they look through the cabinets and chests they find more old cameras and film. On a whim, Allura checks the short, labeled cabinet and finds negatives of Keith's dad growing up, as well as Keith's mom and him and his siblings growing up on the property.

"Guys, do you know what this means?!" Pidge asks.

"We can give him at least a little of his family history and such back!" Hunk asks. 

"How? Can either of you develop analog pictures?" Lance asks.

"Nope, but I know someone who does!" Pidge tells them.

"Should we tell him?"Matt asks. 

"Why not surprise him with it?" Allura asks.

"We need to get them back to campus though," Pidge says.

"Ok, but how are we going to do that without Keith or his family noticing they're gone?" 

"With some inside help," comes a voice from the door.

They look up and see a young man about their age with brown hair slicked back except for a lock of hair hanging loose on the left side of his face and blue eyes leaning against the wall by the door. 

"And you are?" Allura asks.

"James Griffin. I'm his neighbor across the street."

"How would you help?" Lance asks. 

"The Kogane's are planning to store a lot of that stuff at our house," James tells them. "Wouldn't be too hard for me to drive them up to your college next week." 

"Not to sound ungrateful but why are you helping us?" Matt asks.

"Yeah, I thought Keith didn't really have a lot of friends his age here," Pidge comments. 

"He's right he didn't," James admits guiltily. "I'll admit, a lot of that is my fault." 

"You are one of his bullies, then?" Allura asks. 

"Was," James clarifies. "I stopped Junior Year."

"Why?" 

"Why did I bully him or why did I stop?" 

"Yes." Pidge tells him. 

James sighs. 

"I started because Keith's GPA was always one score higher than me, even though he worked all the time. He had straight A's on everything. I felt it was unfair, somehow. "Why should he get good grades effortlessly while I had to work for it?" I thought." 

"What changed?" Hunk asks. 

"Two things," James says, moving to the couch. "First, at the start of our Junior year, out of the blue, he started bombing tests. They weren't even hard tests. They were things I knew for a fact Keith knew. By Christmas, I had the highest GPA in school because of it." 

"Is that not what you wanted?" Allura asks patiently. 

"That's what Keith said. It was, but it didn't feel like a victory," James says.  


"Do you know why?" 

James doesn't answer for a moment. His voice is bitter as he continues. 

"Because of me. He was doing it on purpose so I would stop bullying him. "I just want to be left alone for once in my life. You want the highest GPA; have it!" That's what he told me."

"So what did you do when he said that?" Pidge asks. 

"At first, I was too stunned to say anything. I just walked away. I thought about it and realized I did want to have a higher GPA than him, but I wanted to earn it. I walked up to him and promised I’d leave him alone but first he needed to get his grade back up. Then I tutored him myself. By the end of the year, his GPA was the highest again. Senior year, our GPAs were tied right up until graduation.”

"Who was Valedictorian?" Pidge asks. 

"It was tough, but I did," James tells her. "Keith was Salutatorian." 

"You said there was another reason you stopped bullying him," Lance reminds him. 

"Ah, yes. My dad was a retired fireman who was injured on the job one night when I was 11. Thing is, I never knew what exactly went down that night; I just knew he almost died and his partner died saving him. I found out Junior year that it was Keith's dad who saved mine that night. I found out because my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer from all the smoke he inhaled that night." 

"That's what the medal was for," Matt states. 

"Thing is... I never actually apologized to Keith for the hell I put him through in school. This is a way I can."

~

When Shiro left the basement with Keith, he carried his boyfriend to the horse barn. He carefully climbed the steps and laid him down gently in the hay before spooning Keith. Shiro holds Keith close as his boyfriend sleeps. More than anything, Shiro wishes there was something more he could do. Keith didn't just lose the house and his family photos, he lost all of his dad's stuff. The only thing of his dad's that had been saved was his fireman ax that Keith used to save Shiro that night.

Remembering the ax gave Shiro an idea. 

It wouldn't be easy, but Shiro would give Keith the universe if he could. Keith has been Shiro's rock the entire year from the moment Shiro declared his major all through his mother disowning him. He hasn't smiled at all since the fire.

If Shiro's idea works, he might be able to give Keith just a have a little more from his dad than an ax.

~

The next week, Pidge and the others bring the negatives back to campus with some help from James. They immediately take them to the person Pidge knows who can develop analogue pictures.

"Hey Sky, got a minute?" Pidge asks. 

The Peruvian girl winks her sky blue eyes at Pidge.

"I got all the time in the world for you, Beautiful." 

Pidge hides a blush.  


"I need your help doing something for a friend."

When Allura, Lance, Hunk, and Matt carry in the chests and cabinet with the negatives and such in, Sky perks up curiously. 

"Remember that friend I said lost his house and everything in it a few months back? We found these while helping him last weekend."

Sky opens one of the cases and gasps when she sees the negatives. She tucks her long black hair behind her ear and quickly gets her gloves before picking them up to look. 

"These are in amazing condition, given how old they are and that they survived a housefire," Sky breathes as she looks at them.

"Can you develop them?" Pidge asks. 

"I would fucking hope so! Otherwise I picked the wrong major!"

"It would really mean a lot to us," Allura tells her. 

"This guy basically lost everything but his immediate family that night," Hunk adds.

"I'll warn you, it'll take time," Sky tells them. "Some of these take a while to develop." 

"His house won't be finished until October anyway," Matt tells her. 

"Hey! Maybe we can give this to Keith on his birthday!" Lance exclaims.

~

Third year ends and construction on the new farmhouse begins. Keith and Lotor return home to help with the chores. While they're gone Shiro makes some phone calls and pays a few discrete visits to places while Sky slowly but steadily develops the pictures.

Shiro finishes just in time for the anniversary of him and Keith moving in together and becoming official. Keith comes back the week of their anniversary to help Acxa settle in and prepare for what should be their fourth year at college. Shiro takes Keith out on a date on their anniversary to what's become their spot to have a picnic while watching the sun set. 

Shiro is actually surprised how nervous he is about his gift. However, he's gotten this far, he might as well see it through.

"I... uh... I got you something," Shiro tells him as they lean against the trunk of the car. 

Keith looks at him.

"You didn't have to. I know its our anniversary, but you really didn't."

Shiro takes Keith's hand. 

"I wanted to, Keith. Despite everything, all the hardships and such, this past year has been one of the best years of my life. You've stood by me and helped me so much this year and I know how rough the last few months have been for you. I wanted to do something for you."

Keith raises an eyebrow as Shiro pops the trunk open. He gasps when Shiro hands him a long, rectangular frame. 

Its a shadowbox like the one lost in the fire, except now its big enough to include the ax, all of his dad's medals plus a new Hero one, as well as his dad's full name. It even has a picture of Keith's dad in full gear. 

Keith just stares speechless down at the shadowbox in his hand.

"I called the fire department in your town to see if we could replace your dad's shadow box and they helped me get everythi- Mmfph!"

His explanation is cut off by Keith grabbing the front of Shiro's shirt and yanking him in for a passionate kiss that Shiro eagerly returns. There are tears in Keith's eyes when they pull away. 

Keith hugs the shadow box longways against his chest.

"Thank you... You've no idea how much this means to me."

Shiro presses their foreheads together.

"Yes I do. That's why I did it. It won't replace everything, but I hope it helps." 

For the first time since the fire, Keith smiles. Actually smiles without faking it. 

He sets the shadowbox down inside the trunk and wraps his arms around Shiro.

"It does."

Shiro smiles and hugs Keith back tight.

"I love you so much," Shiro tells him. 

Keith hugs Shiro tighter. 

"I love you too."

~

Their 4th of college starts not long after with no major fanfare.

For half of the group, it’ll be their final year. 

Lotor, Matt, Lance, and Hunk graduate at the end of the year.

Allura’s transferring to a law school, Shiro and Keith need to stay for another year or two, and Pidge wants to get a doctorate like her mom and dad (Matt eventually will too, he just wants to travel for a year first).

As October starts, construction on the new house is almost complete. Shiro replacing the shadow box for Keith's dad improved Keith's mood significantly, but he's still understandably depressed. When the others told Shiro about the pictures, Shiro immediately jumped on board.

A week before Keith's birthday, Sky finishes developing them. Keith had begun working at a vet clinic to get experience at the start of the year. It just so happened that Keith has a morning shift on his birthday so Shiro and their friends have enough time to set up the surprise. Lotor had been clued in after he realized they were up to something. He helps them set up the surprise. 

"I'm not being judgemental, but why are you not effected by the house fire as much as Keith and your sisters are?" Allura asks him as they set up.

"At a young age I learned a house is merely that; a house," Lotor explains. "I am sad to lose it of course, I had many happy memories there, but houses can be rebuilt and things can be replaced. I care very little for the house, but I care a great deal for the people in it. Had any of them been injured or killed, my feelings toward it would be different. However, I have experiences in my life that paint my world differently from my brother and sisters. Their feelings are not diminished by my experiences. They have never known any other life. I understand with their feelings, even if I do not share them." 

Allura nods acceptingly. 

They finish setting up just in time for Keith to get home.  


Keith freezes when he walks into his and Shiro's apartment and sees all of the pictures. He absentmindedly runs his hands over the frames and albums.  


"How?"  


"Evidently Father and his family kept the negatives and such for some of our pictures," Lotor tells him.

"Happy birthday, Keith."

Keith starts crying as he hugs his friends. 

"Thanks guys. All of you. How'd you get these here?" 

"We had help from the guy across the street," Lance tells him. 

"James?" 

"Yeah, him. He wanted to apologize for bullying you as kids."

"I already forgave him, but I appreciate it." 

They bring out the cake then (courtesy of Hunk) and everyone notices how much happier Keith is.

~

The following month, they all help Keith bring the pictures and shadow box to the house. Once they're all hung up or put away, they go with Keith and Lotor to furniture shop for their new rooms (he and Lotor have separate rooms now, though Acxa and Romelle are still sharing.)

The next few months fly by until before they know it, its January. 

Keith and Shiro are constantly busy with classes and such as they prepare to get their Bachelor's degrees. They only see each other when they fall in bed at night.  Even on days they don't see each other, they leave notes for one another, depending on who wakes up first. The precious few moments they have together are spent relaxing and just being near each other in the chaos that is their life.

Then, everything changes with a single phone call. 

Keith is returning a dog to his kennel when his cellphone rings. He looks and frowns when he sees it's from Pidge. When he answers, Pidge doesn't even wait for him to say 'hello'. 

"Keith, There's been a car accident."

Keith rushes to the hospital as soon as he gets off the phone. 

Pidge is at the ER with Sky waiting for him. Pidge is in tears. 

"What happened?" 

Pidge is too upset to talk so Sky tells him.

"Some dumb fuck decided to try driving after having one too many drinks," Sky explains. "Then said dumb fuck ran a stop sign and slammed into Matt's car on the passenger's side. Both cars then slid across the road before flipping upside down in a ditch."

Keith feels like there's ice in his lungs.

"They were brought in about the time we got here," Sky continues with an arm around Pidge.

"Judging from Pidge's reaction, I'm guessing it was bad." 

"They both looked pretty bad, but we won't know the exact damage until after surgery."

"They were alive, last we saw. I'll warn you though, Shiro's side took the worst of it."

"Have the others been called?" 

Sky nods.

"I called Allura while Pidge was calling you."

They sit together in the waiting room as one by one the rest of their group joins them, as well as Matt and Pidge's parents. 

After what feels like an eternity, a doctor finally calls Matt's name.

"Matthew Holt suffered a fracture in his lower left leg and a large cut on the left side of his face. He should make a full recovery." 

"Oh thank heavens!" Colleen says. 

"What about his passenger?" Sam asks.

"Takashi Shirogane is currently still in surgery," the doctor tells them.

"Can we see Matt?" Colleen asks. 

The doctor nods.

"Ask the nurse when you get in and she'll show you." 

Pidge, her family, and Sky head back. 

Its another hour and a half until they hear anything on Shiro.

"Takashi Shirogane suffered head trauma to the front of his head and his lower right arm was completely crushed. We had to amputate." 

Keith is too numb to talk. 

Lotor puts an arm around his brother. 

"Is he expected to make a full recovery?"

"He's in pretty rough shape, but he's stable for the moment. He likely won't regain consciousness for a few days though." 

"Are we able to see him?" Lotor asks.

"I'm afraid I can only allow his family or emergency contact back with him at this time."

Keith snaps out of his daze. 

"I'm his emergency contact!" 

The doctor pulls out a clipboard.

"Name?" 

"Keith Kogane."

"ID?" 

Keith shows him. 

The doctor looks at it and nods. 

"Ask the nurse's station, they'll show you where he is."

Keith pockets his ID and runs into the ER. The nurse leads him to an elevator up to a room in the ICU. 

He hesitates a moment, long enough to glance at the name plate to the room next door and sees Matt's name on it. Keith takes a deep breath and steels himself before heading in.

He freezes at the door and stares. 

Shiro's head is wrapped and the lower part of his right arm is heavily bandaged. His eyes are closed and he's so still that if it weren't for the heart monitor, Keith would think he was dead.

Keith swallows thickly as he staggers over to the chair to the left of Shiro's bed. He takes Shiro's left hand in his own and holds it. 

That's where Keith stays for the next three days. He called all his professors and the vet he works for and told them the situation. During that time, he only leaves Shiro's side to use the bathroom. He eats his meals in Shiro's room and sleeps at his side at nights with Shiro's hand in his as he lays his head on the bed. 

Matt and the Holts are released, but not before they pay Shiro and Keith a visit.

Matt is placed on strict bed rest for his lower get to heal. 

On day four, Shiro blinks his eyes open. 

"Keith?" 

Keith breathes a sigh of relief. 

"Oh thank god!" 

He presses a kiss into Shiro's hand.

“What happened? Where am I?” 

Keith looks at him. 

“You and Matt were in a car accident. You’re in the hospital. You’ve been out for 3 or 4 days.” 

“Is Matt ok?” 

“Matt’s fine. He got a broke shin from the accident but not so broken he needed to stay here. He was sent home.”

Shiro moves to scratch his forehead with his right hand. 

That’s when he notices it’s gone. 

“Keith, where’s my right hand?” 

A tear slips down Keith’s face against his will. 

“It was crushed beyond repair. They had to amputate.” 

A tear rolls down Shiro’s face.

“Anything else?” He asks emotionally. 

“They had to shave your hair to treat the head trauma you got, but that’ll grow back. There’s also a scar across your nose now.”

More tears slide down Shiro's cheeks. 

Keith sits on the side of the hospital bed and pulls Shiro into a hug while being mindful of his IV. 

When Shiro's tears subside, Keith presses a kiss into his boyfriend's forehead. 

"I love you, Shiro." 

"I love you, too Keith."

Shiro lays back against the pillow and his eye lids start to droop. 

"You should get some rest," Keith suggests as he moves to the chair again while holding Shiro's hand. 

The doctor comes in then and Keith tells him Shiro woke up briefly.

The doctor tells him that's normal as is his reaction to losing his hand. While the doctor checks Shiro's vitals, Keith texts their friends to let them know Shiro woke up. 

The doctor leaves and Keith resumes his vigil at Shiro's side.

Shiro wakes up again that evening, this time with the doctor present. When the doctor leaves, he falls asleep again. Keith never once leaves Shiro's side.

Its on day five that someone they didn't expect rushes into Shiro's room. 

Shiro's mother.

For the first time since Keith met her, he doesn't see a wealthy business woman. He sees a mother who just learned her son was in a terrible car accident. 

Despite that, Keith still steps between her and Shiro's bed. 

"What are you doing here?"

"I just found out about the accident." 

Keith crosses his arms. 

"And whose fault is that?"

Shiro's mom flinches at the question but doesn't answer. 

"Is he?" 

"He's asleep," Keith tells her. 

"He's alright then? No complications?"

Keith looks Ayumi dead in her eye. 

"Why do you care?" 

Ayumi returns Keith's look. 

"I'm his mother!" 

"No. You don't get to claim that after pretending Shiro isn't your son for over a year and then come in here expecting to pick up where you left off. He's not a pen, he's a person. One you hurt terribly."  


"I only wanted what was best for him!" 

"You wanted what was best for _**you. **_If you had really wanted what was best, you would have given him a safety net to catch him if his plan fell short." 

She scoffs.

"And you're telling me you did that?"

Keith raises an eyebrow. 

"Do you know how much large animal veterinarians make in a year? The average median is $99,000, give or take. Its higher in towns that specialize in farming and livestock, like my hometown since their farm animals are literally their livelyhood. Add the active and successful farm my family lives and works on and yeah, I'd say Shiro has a pretty good safety net if he doesn't succeed. I doubt it'll even come to that since we have friends with access to a planetarium. Hell, my hometown plans to start building one soon. My point is, you abandoned him and now you suddenly act like he's your son again as if you didn't ignore him for a year. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call security." 

Ayumi deflates. 

"I'm sorry." 

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. I'm not the one you hurt. If Shiro wants to forgive you, that's entirely up to him and I'll respect whatever he wants to do. But right now, you have to leave."

Ayumi sighs. 

"Will you tell him I was here?" 

"I will." 

She gives one final remorseful look to Shiro's bed before leaving.  


Keith closes the door. 

When he turns around he startles when he sees Shiro's awake. 

"Er... how much of that did you hear?"  


"I woke up at "What are you doing here?" 

"So the whole thing." 

Keith gets anxious when Shiro nods his head. Shiro gives him a reassuring smile and motions for him to come sit with him. When Keith sits on the bed, Shiro grabs him by the front of the shirt and hauls him in for a kiss. When his shock wears off, Keith returns it.

After a moment they pull away. 

"Um... your mom was here."

Shiro snorts. 

"Thank you."

Keith blinks. 

"For what?" 

Shiro smiles and cups Keith's face with his left hand. 

"For what you said. For supporting me and believing in me while also giving me something to fall back on just in case. For being you."

Keith leans into the touch.

"Want me to bring her back in?"

Shiro thinks for a second. 

"Do you have my phone?"

Keith hands Shiro his cell phone and Shiro quickly presses the contact that reads 'Mom'. 

"Hi, Mother."

~

Shiro is in ICU for another week to recover from his injuries and to learn to clean his amputation. 

Throughout that week, Shiro's mom makes amends with him and apologizes to Keith for the way she treated him.

At the end of the week, Hunk and the Holts pay Shiro a visit while his mom is visiting. 

"The doctor says your head has been healing well and your arm has healed enough to introduce a prosthetic," Sam tells him. 

"Our lab has developed a new type of prosthetic," Colleen continues.

"By "our lab" she means Hunk and me," Pidge says. 

Pidge and Hunk present Shiro with a gray, robotic prosthetic arm with black fingers (its Shiro's original prosthetic form the show, minus the glowy hand of doom).

"There are neural sensors on the outside of the sock and the inside of the prosthetic that allow you to move the hand naturally," Hunk explains.

"I get the feeling its more complicated than that," Shiro remarks. 

"Unfortunately, you're right," Pidge tells him. "You're more than welcome to say no if you'd prefer." 

"Yeah man, you won't hurt our feelings or anything if you turn it down. We just wanted to try to help, but it's entirely up to you," Hunk tells him. 

"So what needs to happen?" Keith asks.

"You would have to have a kind of transmitter/receiver surgically implanted on the left side of your head just under your skin," Sam explains. 

"Its similar to a cochlear implant," Colleen continues. "Except its completely under the skin. Once healed, you'd never know."

"Has this been tested?" Shiro's mom asks. "I've never heard of such a prosthetic." 

"Well, you wouldn't. Believe it or not, the prototype for this was our senior project."

Pidge indicates herself and Hunk. 

"And yes, they've been tested," Hunk finishes.

"Anything else I should know about the prosthetic?" Shiro asks. 

"It has to be removed and plugged in like a cellphone every night before you go to bed," Pidge explains. 

Shiro thinks for a moment. 

"I trust you guys. When can we do the surgery?"

"In a few days," Sam answers.

~

A few days later, the surgery happens. 

Shiro is put under general anesthetic for the surgery so they can attach the transmitter/receiver to the upper left side of Shiro's head just above and behind his ear. The surgery is a complete success.

Shiro blinks awake to find Sam placing the sock on his arm before slipping the prosthetic over the sock. 

"Shiro? How does it feel?" Sam asks gently. 

Shiro flexes his arm. 

"Natural, but odd... Its a good odd, but odd." 

"That's to be expected. Just making some minor calibrations." 

Shiro feels himself getting pulled under again. 

"You can rest more," Sam tells him. "We can do the checks and such later."

Shiro falls into a deep sleep again. 

When he wakes up again, he's back in his room and its dark outside.

Shiro looks at his right arm and sees the prosthetic still on him (they'll probably take it off when they do vitals). He then notices his left hand is heavy. 

Shiro looks and sees Keith had fallen asleep while holding Shiro's left hand, his head cradled in his other arm.

A fond looks spreads across Shiro's face as he watches Keith sleep. 

He remembers everything they've been through together over the past year and a half. He remembers everything Keith's done for him and how much Keith has grown to mean to him.

Keith shivers in his sleep. 

Shiro looks around and sees Keith's jacket on the chair to Shiro's right within arms reach. He looks at his prosthetic a moment before using it to grab the jacket. He can't feel the jacket in his hand, but it still moves like its flesh and blood. Shiro covers his sleeping boyfriend beside him before laying back on the bed. 

His expression turns to a lovestruck smile as he looks at the man who has come to mean so much to him in just 3 1/2 years (give or take a few months). He doesn't want to live without Keith in his life. Shiro makes a sincere vow as he falls asleep again while looking at Keith. 

He's going to marry this man.

~

The next morning, Shiro starts physical therapy to learn more about how to use his prosthetic (because it turns out that grabbing something with your whole hand and holding something between your fingers are two different things) as well as how to maintain and care for his arm.

"At least you don't have to relearn how to hold a pencil and write," Keith jokes. 

"The perks of being a lefty," Shiro jokes back. 

A week after he starts physical therapy, he's released from the hospital. Shiro’s hair grows back with a white patch in the front after the accident.  


Their professors marked them as having dropped their classes so it doesn't effect their scholarships, but they still sign up for summer classes to make them up. 

They watch Allura, Lance, Hunk, and Lotor graduate (Matt also has to make up his classes).

Shiro goes back to stay with his mom for a few weeks so they can catch up. She's been trying to be more supportive of him. Its not perfect, she's constantly trying to coddle him for his arm, but after years of being treated like an employee, he'll take it.

The last day before Shiro returns home to Keith, he and his mom are walking around Houston when she notices the way he’s looking in the window of every jeweler they go past. Particularly ones with rings in the windows.

"Anything in particular you're looking for?" she asks him after they pass about the 10th jewelry store. 

Shiro hesitates a moment. 

"A ring." 

"You wish to ask Keith to marry you?" 

Its more statement than question, but Shiro nods anyway.  


"I may have one for you." 

Shiro looks at her. 

"A ring?"

She nods. 

"You don't have to use it if it's not to your liking, but it happens to be your father's wedding ring." 

When they get home, she shows him the ring.

He gasps when he sees it. 

Its a yellow gold band with silver inlaid around the middle. Embedded in the silver inlay is a heart-shaped diamond with two red rubies and two amethysts on either side of it (one on each side). 

It's perfect.

"Father had a heart-shaped diamond in his wedding ring?"

"Your father was a bit of a romantic." 

His mom looks at him. 

"He was a lot like you in fact."

Shiro looks up at her. 

"Really?"

"Apart from being a romantic, he had a passion for astronomy. He would visit the planetarium regularly and was constantly reading books on space. When I was pregnant with you, he talked a lot about it. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been surprised when you chose to major in it. He was very humble for a man of his wealth. He would regularly donate to science research and organizations that support the LGBTA. He also had a terrible weakness for animals, especially cats."  


"You never talk about him."

She hesitates. 

"Your father was a good man. I regret I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have back then. Not until it was too late." 

"You mean the accident?" 

She nods.

"What happened? I know he was in a car accident, but nothing else."

His mom takes a deep breath. 

"A drunk driver." 

Shiro breathes in sharply.

"The other driver was killed instantly. Your father died later at the hospital."

Shiro looks at her a moment. 

"You said I'm a lot like him. Is that why you worked so much when I was growing up?"

She closes her eyes and nods. 

"You don't just act like him. You're him in duplicate. Now I take comfort in it but back then it was... hard. The older you got, the more you looked like him, the more it hurt. I hadn't realized that my ways were pushing you away until I ran into you that night with Keith. Even then, I was too proud to admit I had driven you away. I had convinced myself I'd done nothing wrong, that it was you who pushed me away."

"Then my accident happened." 

She nods.

"How did you even find out? I removed you as my emergency contact when you..."

He doesn't say it. He knows he doesn't need to. 

"One of the professors at your college is a friend of mine. He heard it from one of your professors talking to Keith's. Unfortunately, you'd been in the hospital almost a week at that point. When I got there and saw you... it was like seeing your father all over again. Except you were alive. Injured, but alive. It felt like a second chance. Then Keith reminded me that just because I finally had some sense knocked into me doesn't erase what I'd done in my arrogance. When he kicked me out, I thought I had realized too late. I didn't expect you to call me." 

Shiro hugs his mom. 

"I won't say its OK Mother, because it wasn't. I forgive you though. Your reasons don't excuse how you treated me, but you're trying. Its enough."  


She hugs him back. 

"By the way, the ring is perfect." 

She laughs. 

"Yep, just like your father."

~

Shiro returns home with the ring and starts planning immediately. He decides to propose on their anniversary. 

He takes Keith to their spot for a picnic under the stars. They're laying on their backs on the blanket while looking up at the stars when Shiro gets up the nerve to ask.

"Hey, Keith..."

"Listen, Shiro..." 

"Sorry, I wanted to ask you something," they say at the same time. 

They laugh.

"You first," Keith insists. 

Shiro takes a deep breath and pulls out the ring box.

"Will you marry me?"

Keith blinks. 

"Wow, that makes things easy!" 

Before Shiro can ask, Keith pulls out a ring box and opens it. 

"I was literally going to ask you the same thing."

Its a silver band with a circle diamond embedded in it with an amethyst and a ruby on either side.

They both laugh as they exchange the rings. 

"Where'd you get your ring?" Shiro asks.

"My dad's. When I told mom I wanted to marry you, she told me she'd put it in a safe deposit box after he died for safe keeping. Apparently, he wasn't wearing it when he died."

"Literally, same. Except Mom had it in a box in her desk." 

They kiss and snuggle together under the stars.

Then they finish school, get married, travel to (insert location here) for their honeymoon. When they get home, Keith becomes a large and exotic animal vet in his hometown while Shiro gets a job at the new planetarium.

They live near Keith's mom but regularly visit Shiro's mom in Houston. 


	2. College professor/student AU! Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro is a young college professor. Keith's one of his students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro's prosthetic is the pre-season 7 one. Shiro's 25 at the start of this, Keith's 20.

Shiro doesn't really know what it is that draws his attention to the younger man that first month he has him in his classes, but he can't seem to stop looking at him.  As far as students go, Keith Daibazaal is pretty ordinary; if a little quiet and withdrawn perhaps.

However, it becomes clear within a month that Keith is anything but ordinary.

Shiro only sees Keith around campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Keith always looks visibly exhausted when he comes to class, even though the class isn't until noon. He often hands in homework that isn't completed so of course he doesn't do very well on tests. He'd suspect partying and such were it not for the fact that Keith keeps to himself and only talks to one of the campus TAs, Lotor. He tries to participate in class and seems to know the material, but its clear he needs some extra help.  


"Its not that complicated, Takashi."

Shiro's having dinner in his office with his fiance, Adam one night two weeks into the school term.

"I have him in one of my classes too. He just lazy and disrespectful. Mommy and Daddy are probably paying for his college so he thinks he doesn't have to do any work."

"If that were true, than why does he even come to class? Why does he try so hard on the tests? That's a lot of effort for someone who doesn't care."

"How should I know? I don't have time to think about why spoiled kids behave the way they do. If he can't respect me enough to look me in the eyes when I talk to him or stop rocking in his chair when I tell him to then why should I respect him."

Shiro walks away before they get in another fight. 

Ever since Shiro's right hand was diagnosed with a tumor that forced it to be amputated, he and Adam have been fighting more and more. All through his chemo and after they finally amputated his hand, their relationship seemed to change. Not only have their opinions been clashing more but after Shiro's hand was amputated, Adam's been treating Shiro like a fragile doll. He's become so overbearing that Shiro's starting to feel smothered. He has a prosthetic now courtesy of his lifelong friend Matt and his family and he kinda likes his new white hair. Its not perfect, but he's adjusting. Adam doesn't seem to be, so they argue. 

Shiro doesn't want to be coddled, he just wants someone to believe in him.  


He can't help but wonder if maybe Keith needs that too. Whatever it is, Shiro knows in his heart that more is going on than Adam is giving Keith credit for.

The following Thursday, Shiro has Keith stay after class after he bombed a test on Tuesday that Shiro could tell was due to exhaustion. 

"Is everything ok on your end?" Shiro asks. "I understand if you don't want to answer, but I can tell you aren't doing this on purpose."

Keith looks at the floor.

"I... I don't know... I'm trying but..." 

He trails off nervously with his arms crossed like he doesn't know how to explain what the issue is.

"Is it a complicated issue?" 

Keith nods silently.

"My brother explains it better." 

Shiro looks at him curiously. 

"Brother?" 

"He works here. He helps me register and stuff. Applications and forms confuse me." 

A light bulb goes on. 

"He's a TA, right?"

Keith nods.

"May I ask him about this? I'm serious. I really want to help you, but I'm not allowed to talk about this with him without your permission." 

Keith nods. 

"He explains it better."

Shiro thanks Keith and sends him on his way.

~

He approaches Lotor that afternoon in the office and tells him about the conversation with Keith. 

"My brother works to pay his way through college. As an employee, I get a discount and reimbursed when he passes and we carpool to campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, my brother does not like to feel like a burden so he insists on paying me back as well as buying his own clothes and such. It is however why he does not live on campus." 

"Where's he living then?" 

"For the most part, on my couch. My apartment is not big, but he knows what is mine will always be his if he has need of it. Sadly, as I mentioned before, he does not like to be a burden so occasionally he will sleep in his van at a nearby truck stop."

"Where are your parents if you don't mind my asking."

"It... is complicated..."

"How so?" 

"My brother is unwelcome in our parents' house. They disowned him when he was 16."  


Shiro's mouth drops open.

"Your parents disowned him when he was 16?! Why?!" 

Lotor crosses his arms over his chest.

"Evidently he is not the son they wished him to be. Cannot have a son who prefers the company of other men after all. What will the neighbors think?"

Shiro's face becomes a storm cloud. 

"They disowned him for being gay?" 

Lotor nods. 

"But you didn't." 

"I was not going to abandon my brother. If they do not wish him in their lives, that is on them." 

Shiro smiles at that in spite of his outrage.

"How many years apart are you?" 

"About 5 years." 

"I'm glad he has you." 

"As am I. All things considered, it is better this way. Our parents are the reason Keith fears himself a burden. Him preferring the company of other men was just one more "burden" than they wished to handle."

"What's the other?" 

"My brother is on the Spectrum. Autism to be exact."

"He has Autism?" 

"High functioning autism, but yes." 

Another light bulb goes on. 

"That explains a lot."

Shiro looks at Lotor. 

"Is that why he's having so many problems understanding my lessons?" 

Lotor nods. 

"Growing up I often had to assist him with homework and such. He is extremely intelligent, but often he has questions that he's afraid to ask."

"Such as?"

"Keith does not comprehend words the way you and I would. Sometimes he has to have what is said to him worded differently to understand. Or if he's given an instruction with a double meaning; often times his interpretation is different from what the teacher meant."

"So he needs to ask clarifying questions, but he's afraid to because he doesn't want to sound stupid," Shiro concludes.

"Or hold up the class in order to ask them," Lotor hammers the nail. 

Shiro sits back in his chair, his mind racing. 

"Ok... Ok..."

Shiro thinks for a moment.

"Is Keith's autism on his medical record?" 

"It is on his physical." 

Shiro grabs a piece of paper and pen off Lotor's desk and starts writing.

"Does the office know you're handling his office stuff?" 

"Indeed. He picks the classes and such, I merely fill out the forms."

"Ok, take his physical down to disability services on level one. Ask for Coran and have him give you the first form number I'm writing here. Fill that out and get Keith in the system. They're required by law to make accommodations for him. When you hand the form to Coran, explain the situation to him. He'll get Keith in today. When you're done there, go down to financial aid and student housing and fill out the second form I'm writing here. This college has a scholarship specifically for people on the Spectrum. Show them Keith's physical for proof. They'll immediately start looking to get him housed in either a dorm or one of the on-campus apartments. In the meantime, see if he's willing to meet with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays after classes for tutoring." 

Lotor looks at Shiro. 

"I will do this. Thank you."  


~

As Shiro walks back to his car late that afternoon, he remembers his conversation with Adam and frowns. 

Throughout his entire drive home, Shiro thinks about it while glancing at his engagement ring every so often. 

By the time he gets home, he's made his decision.

Adam isn't home when Shiro gets there since he teaches an evening class on Thursdays. Shiro unlocks the door to the apartment, immediately finds a box, and starts throwing his stuff in it. The apartment was Adam's already so Shiro doesn't have much to pack. Once he's done getting his stuff, he starts putting his clothes in suitcases. Once everything is packed, he takes them to his car. 

As he grabs his final bag from the bedroom, he hears Adam get home. He's sitting on the couch when Shiro walks into the living room with his bag.  


He sets the bag down by the door before walking over and dropping his ring on the coffee table. 

"We're done." 

Adam looks at the ring in shock then looks at Shiro. 

"I found out why Keith's having problems in class and why he always looks so exhausted. Also, you're an asshole."

Adam rolls his eyes. 

"Was that last part really necessary?" 

"Apparently it is." 

"What's wrong? Did his mommy and daddy pay you a visit?"

"No. Unlike you, I actually give a shit about my students. I talked to him today and he sent me to his TA brother to explain the situation."

"So he's mooching off his brother as well as mommy and daddy?" Adam remarks as he stands to walk away.

"There is no mommy and daddy, you pretentious bastard! They disowned him when he was 16 for being gay! His brother's the only reason he isn't sleeping in his van!"

Adam looks at Shiro as if he told him Keith's an alien (I couldn't resist...).

"Wait, what?" 

"You heard me. He was disowned for being gay." 

For the first time since term started, Adam actually looks like he has sympathy for Keith. 

"Oh..."  


"Wanna know what else I found out? He has autism. That's why he won't look you in the eyes and has problems finishing his assignments. He literally has problems comprehending what you're teaching but is too afraid to ask questions for fear of sounding stupid."

"I... didn't know..." 

"Of course you don't. You were too busy writing him off as lazy and disrespectful." 

Adam comes back to himself a bit. 

"Now hang on, Takashi. He could have just as easily told me this himself."

"Were you not listening? He sent me to his brother because he doesn't know how to explain the situation. Besides, if you don't give a shit about whether or not he's passing your class, why should he tell you." 

Shiro's expression darkens as he continues.

"How many students have you failed because you were too lazy to make an effort to help them? How many students did you write off as spoiled without making sure they weren't an eviction notice away from being homeless? How many students have you assumed was uninterested and disrespectful without making sure they were actually understanding your lessons and not too scared to ask you questions? How many, Adam?"

Adam's silence tells him everything.

"Like I said, we're done. I could have lived with you coddling me for my hand and whatnot because I know it comes from a place of love but this? You didn't even try. We're not a big college like the universities; our class sizes are small enough to make the effort."

Shiro picks up his bag and walks to the door. 

"Good bye, Adam." 

~

Shiro's about halfway to Matt's when it hits him that he just broke up with the man he had been planning to marry. 

That's how he shows up at Matt's house in tears. 

"Mind if I crash on your couch?"

Matt immediately brings him in and sits him on the sofa while his teen genius sister Pidge disappears and reappears with a package of oreos, a tub of ice cream, and a blanket.

"Thanks," Shiro tells them.

"You know you're always welcome here, Shiro," Matt assures him.

Pidge adjusts her glasses.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't leave sooner." 

Matt looks at her in exasperation.

"Seriously Pidge?" 

"What?! I'm just stating facts. Their relationship has been slowly dying for the past year. Just shoot the damn horse already and move on with life."

"Still, you could be a little more considerate. Up until that point, Shiro had every intention of marrying his person."

"I'm not saying he shouldn't be upset because yeah this sucks, I'm just saying he deserves better."

"Like I told Adam, I could deal with the coddling because I know he only did it because he cared. But I draw the line at not even giving students a chance. It wasn't hard for me to find out what I did about this student. He just didn't care enough to try."

"Just focus on helping that student," Pidge advises. "You'll be fine." 

"You're welcome to stay here until you find a place," Matt tells him.

~

The following Monday, Shiro learns Keith has not only been approved for the scholarship but he's been placed in a dorm for the time being. When the school year ends, he'll be placed in an on-campus apartment. He and Shiro start meeting every Tuesday and Thursday evening for extra tutoring. 

B y the end of fall term, Keith's GPA is one of the highest in his class.  


In fact, he passes both of his classes with a B. 

Winter term comes and because Keith isn't working so much, he decides to take 4 classes. Shiro has him again for another of the classes he teaches. He still works on weekends because he likes having the extra money for emergencies. Shiro notices in addition to Allura from Disability Services acting as an in-class translator when she's available, Keith has also made at least one friend, possibly two.  Two guys have been sitting with Keith in class and Shiro sees Keith hanging out with them more on campus.  


A big guy with an orange headband named Hunk has been explaining things to Keith when he gets questions in class while a tall, skinny guy named Lance who apparently gives zero fucks about sounding stupid will actively ask questions Shiro knows for a fact are from Keith.

With Shiro still seeing Keith every so often for tests and tutoring, Keith easily passes all of his classes. 

At the end of May, Keith is moved to an on-campus apartment so he can remain on campus for Summer term. Both his friends head home for the summer so even though he isn't in any of Shiro's summer classes, Keith still regularly drops by Shiro's office just to talk. 

Its during summer term that Shiro starts to realize they have a lot in common.  


They both like to ride dirt bikes, they both like astronomy, they both have cats they both sucked at naming (Shiro's is a solid black cat and Keith's is a red tabby named Black and Red respectively), and they both have brothers (though Shiro's is younger).

Around the start of Keith's second year that Shiro notices how attractive Keith is. 

Keith's in another of Shiro's classes and their tutoring sessions have resumed, though now they're in Shiro's office and every so often, Shiro's apartment. He notices the way Keith looks at him when he thinks Shiro isn't looking and how quickly Keith blushes and looks away when he thinks he's been caught. The more time they spend together, the more Shiro finds himself growing attracted to the younger man. 

Shiro tries to keep the relationship professional, but he can feel the heat building between them and he's only so strong.

Its at one of the rare sessions at Shiro's apartment that the heat reaches a breaking point with a single drop of a pencil.  


Their hands land on one another as they reach for it at the same time. Their eyes meet and Shiro can feel the air around them change. 

For a few seconds, the heat builds as they hold each other's gaze; Shiro noticing how the light makes Keith's eyes look like a dark purple color.

They lean in and their lips meet briefly for the first time. 

Shiro swears he sees fireworks in that brief touch of their lips. 

They pull back for a second before they pull each other in again. The heat explodes as the kiss sets fire to Shiro's blood like he's never felt before. 

Next thing he knows, Keith's straddling his lap as the kiss becomes more heated.  Its intoxicating in a way Shiro's never felt before with anyone. He doesn't want to stop and it doesn't seem like Keith wants to either. 

Its the need to breathe that finally pulls them apart.  


They're both panting for air when they pull away again. 

"Wow..." 

Shiro breathes as their foreheads press together. 

"Yeah..." 

There's a look of insecurity that crosses Keith's face then that Shiro immediately hates.

"Is... is this ok?" 

The question is so tentative. 

"I mean... I'm single... and I won't say I'm not interested since clearly I am... but you're one of my students." 

Keith raises an eyebrow at that.

"So? Its not like you're a high school teacher dating his student. You're my college professor and we're both adults in our 20s."

"True." 

"Honestly, I was more concerned about my autism." 

Now its Shiro's turn to be confused.

"What about it?" 

Keith shrugs and looks away, which Shiro has noticed he does when something is too complicated to explain. 

Then it hits him. 

"Are you afraid you'll be a burden to me?" 

Keith bites his lip and hesitates before nodding.

"You already do so much for me, and..." 

Shiro remembers what Lotor said about their parents viewing his autism as a burden and it makes his heart ache. 

Shiro gently caresses the younger man's face with his hand and guides it back to look at him.

"You are **not** a burden. You will _**never** _be a burden to me. Do you understand?" 

Keith smiles and leans into Shiro's hand. 

That's all the convincing Shiro needs to devour Keith's lips once more. Shiro feels Keith's tongue against his lips as they kiss and immediately opens up for him. Shiro slips his left hand under Keith's tshirt and across Keith's skin. Keith inhales sharply and unbuttons Shiro's button down shirt. He moves his hands across Shiro's broad chest, drawing a sharp breath and a groan from him.

As Keith slips his hand under Shiro's shirt to push it off his shoulders, his hand hits the top of Shiro's prosthetic and now its Shiro's turn to get anxious as Keith pauses to look. 

Keith looks up at Shiro inquisitively. 

"That's my prosthetic..."  


"Can I see it?" 

Shiro nods and Keith pushes the shirt the rest of the way off to look at it.  


Keith runs his hand down Shiro's shoulder to where the prosthetic sock begins. His hand continues it's path down the arm and he picks up the hand in his own. 

"You can move it like your other one, right?" 

Shiro answers by turning it palm up and moving the fingers.

"It can feel too. Kinda... Its like feeling things through a glove." 

"I've never seen a prosthetic like it." 

"Its sorta the first of its kind." 

Keith looks at him curiously. 

Shiro shrugs.

"The perks of being friends with a whole family of scientists. They built me a new hand after..."

Shiro trails off. 

Keith turns his head to the side quizzically. 

"After?" 

Shiro looks at him for a moment before answering. 

"My right hand developed a tumor on the wrist. After shrinking it with chemo, it was amputated."  


"So your friends built you a new one." 

Shiro nods. 

"How does it work though?" 

Shiro thinks for a moment. 

"Have you ever heard of a cochlear implant?" 

"Yes. Its that implant that lets deaf people hear right?" 

"More or less. Well, its kinda like that."

"Cool!" 

Shiro laughs and feels his nervousness disappear. 

"You're the first one other than me and the people who made it who thinks so. Adam thought it was weird." 

"Adam?" 

"My ex-fiancé." 

Keith blinks. 

"You had a fiancé?"

Shiro nods.

"Adam... was he that other professor I had that I sometimes saw you eating dinner with in your office?" 

S hiro nods. 

"Was I the reason you broke up?"

Shiro looks up at him suddenly and there's the insecure look in his eyes again. 

"No! No! Why would you ask that?"

Keith looks down at his hands. 

"I heard you guys arguing about me once in your office once... then after you started tutoring me, I didn't see you together anymore. So I wondered..." 

Shiro lets out a breath through his nose and nudges Keith's chin enough to have him look up at Shiro.

"Adam and I were having problems long before that. Since my hand was amputated in fact. After my hand was amputated, I wanted to try to live as normal a life as possible. When my friend and his family came to me with the prosthetic I immediately accepted. Adam had a different opinion of it. He didn't like that I put so much trust in my friend and his family. He said it was risky for me to play guinea pig for an untested prosthetic."

"He wasn't wrong." 

Shiro can tell by Keith's expression he was simply stating an observation, not an opinion.  


"I know, which is why I tried to make it work for as long as I did even after deciding to get the prosthetic. I knew he was trying to take care of me. My point is, the deal breaker wasn't the argument about you, it was his disinterest in helping his students. I pride myself in not failing a student who shows up and tries and I could see you were trying. He wasn't willing to even acknowledge the effort you were making." 

"If he changed, would you get back with him?" 

Shiro shakes his head.  


"No. Like I said, the relationship was already failing for a long time. I did love him once and I'm grateful he stuck by me through my chemo and what not, but I'm a different person than I was before."

Keith gives him a reassured smile.

He kisses the palm of Shiro's prosthetic tenderly before leaning in and brushing their lips together again. 

"His loss." 

Shiro grunts his agreement and kisses him back as he buries the fingers of the prosthetic in Keith's hair.

The fire reignites in Shiro's veins as Keith's hands move across his chest. 

He gently caresses Shiro's nipples with his thumbs, drawing a low moan from Shiro. He lifts Keith's shirt with his left hand so that its bunched up under his chin and ghosts his hand across Keith's chest. He gently rolls one of Keith's nipples between his thumb and forefinger, making Keith break their kiss to take a shuttering breath. Keith closes his eyes and grinds against Shiro's lap as he repeats the motion; drawing more shuttery breaths from him.  Shiro moves his mouth to the other nipple. He swirls his tongue around it before taking it into his mouth to suck on. Keith gasps and whimpers as he starts squirming more in Shiro's lap. Shiro wraps his right arm around Keith to keep him in place and continues both motions.

Shiro looks up at Keith's face and groans as he gets harder at the sounds Keith's making in addition to his facial expression. 

He moves his left hand down to Keith's pants to feel him through his pants. Keith pulls Shiro's face up and to his lips and kisses him hard. His hands immediately unbutton Shiro's pants and slip inside. The moment his hand grazes Shiro's cock, Shiro groans into Keith's lips. Keith wastes no time pulling it out and stroking it while delving into Shiro's mouth again with his tongue. Shiro does the same with Keith's cock and they both feel their pleasure coiling in their chest as their tongues dance. 

Shiro breaks the kiss to take Keith's nipple into his mouth again. Keith's whimpering and bucking so much, he can't focus enough on stroking Shiro.  


"Hold on to me..." 

Shiro's breathe is hot against Keith's skin as his right hand moves to stroke both of their dicks at once while the other resumes rolling Keith's other nipple. 

Keith's hands grip Shiro in a way Shiro knows will leave scratches as he moans and bucks into Shiro's strokes.

"I... I'm gonna..."

"That's it, baby, That's it! Cum for me!" 

Keith cries out as he cums. 

Shiro hits his own release soon after and doesn't let up his movements until Keith's dick has softened again and Keith all but slumps against Shiro while gasping for breath.  Shiro holds Keith steady as he reaches for the tissues on his coffee table to clean them both up. Once he's finished, he wraps his arms around Keith and holds him as they both come down.

"Wow..." Keith gasps. 

"Same."

Keith remains boneless against Shiro even after his breathing has evened out. Shiro looks down and sees he's still awake, albeit a little tired. 

"You know, usually I take people out on a date BEFORE doing something like this."

Keith snorts. 

"Fuck dating norms."

Shiro chuckles. 

"Still, let me take you out to dinner sometime."

"Sounds good to me." 

That's how Shiro starts dating one of his students.

~

They agree to be professional in class and around campus and even though neither of them is ashamed of their relationship, they're still keeping it on the down-low for now; at least until Winter/Spring term when Keith won't be Shiro's student anymore.

Shiro does agree to let Keith tell Lotor, which is how he ends up getting an impressive shovel talk one morning. 

"My feelings of your relationship is irrelevant, though I do approve. You have always been good to my brother and so long as you remain such, we will have no issues. My brother is the most loving person on the planet and deserves to be treated such. That said, should your intentions prove less than virtuous, authorities will fail to locate your dead body."  


Lotor then gives Shiro a few date suggestions. 

"Typical date locations such as movies and restaurants would not be wise, given his sensitivity to visual and auditory stimulation." 

"Right, too much noise and such."

"Indeed. If you wish to see a movie or have dinner together, I would suggest something in one of your apartments. You both also seem to enjoy riding dirt bikes and looking at stars." 

Shiro nods. 

"Honestly, that sounds more romantic anyway."  


Nothing really changes. 

Monday through Thursday, Keith attends his classes while Shiro teaches his. He still tutors Keith those afternoons and Keith still works weekends. Thursday nights become their date nights and Friday nights become their personal time together. 

Usually their dates comprise of dinner at one of their apartments (courtesy of Keith's friend Hunk who they eventually tell because Keith trusts him) and a movie they end up missing most of because they end up making out about halfway through the movie. Every now and then, they go to a planetarium or just go stargazing. They eventually tell Matt and his family as well as Keith's friend Lance and Allura, who Shiro is also friends with, after swearing them to secrecy which they all respect.  


Shiro and Keith are still very intimate together. It takes getting interrupted several times by their cats (depending on whose apartment they're at) for them to remember to feed said cat the moment they get home so they'll be in a food coma the rest of the night. Keith is easily the best boyfriend Shiro's ever had which translates to A.M.A.Z.I.N.G sex. Everything Keith does, he does passionately with his whole being. No lover has ever set fire to Shiro's veins the way Keith does with a simple kiss.

The Fall term feels like it flies by and before he knows it it's December. Finals week comes and Keith takes his finals in disability services with Allura while Shiro monitors the other students. Keith's are spread out over the week so he doesn't get overstimulated from stress.

Winter Break, Shiro and Keith spend more time together to try to maintain a routine. Shiro introduces Keith to the Holts and he and Pidge end up getting along like a house on fire. Shiro invites Keith and Lotor to Allura's annual Christmas party and Keith invites Hunk and Lance.

Winter term starts and Keith starts taking classes with another professor so Shiro doesn't get in trouble for their relationship. Even though that's really the only rule the campus has for their relationship, they still keep their relationship behind closed doors to be safe. If they have a tryst on campus, its in Shiro's office with the doors locked to avoid the security cameras. The only classrooms that don't have cameras in and around them are the portable classrooms but they typically have two classes in the same portable divided by a thin wall. They're often reserved classes that can't meet in their usual spot for whatever reason. 

Toward the end of January, a pipe bursts over Shiro's classroom that floods the room.

While Shiro will admit the humor of him walking in the following morning to be met with a wall of water upon opening the door, he found it significantly less funny when he had to walk across the freezing campus soaking wet to report it to the office. He will admit he's mildly impressed by the integrity of the doors and windows and his near drowning was worth it to see Allura nearly piss herself laughing when he told her about it while looking like a half frozen drowned cat.  


That's how Shiro ends up having his classes moved to one such portable. 

One night after his class leaves, Keith slips inside the classroom without being seen. Shiro can't help the warm smile that pulls at his lips. 

"Keith, how was class today?"

Keith shuts the door firmly behind him before walking over and slumping into one of the desks. He rests his head on the desk and grumbles incoherently. 

Shiro chuckles.

"That bad?" 

Keith just nods. Keith keeps his head cradled in his arms as he turns it to Shiro. 

"Any idea when you'll be back in your usual classroom?" 

"They're saying mid-February." 

Keith shoots Shiro a mischievous look.

Shiro raises an eyebrow as Keith stands and walks over to where Shiro sits at his desk.  


"You know, we have an opportunity here we've never had before." 

Keith reaches the desk. 

"We're in one of the few spots on campus without cameras in the classrooms." 

He leans over the desk. 

"Who knows when we'll get another opportunity like this?"

Shiro maintains an impressive poker face as he sets down his pen and removes his glasses.

"Need I remind you there's a class in the next room and these walls aren't very thick?" 

Keith rounds the desk. 

"And?" 

Keith steps between the desk and Shiro's chair and Shiro instinctively rolls back just a little. Keith pushes the armrests up before straddling Shiro's lap. Keith tugs gently on Shiro's tie and pulls him into a kiss.

"We'll have to be quiet..." Shiro protests weakly as he kisses Keith back, his hands already moving over Keith's body.

"Is that a yes?" 

Shiro breaks the kiss to trail his lips down to the base of Keith's neck.

"I'm not the one who tends to get a little loud," Shiro breathes into Keith's skin as he gently slips his hand under Keith's T-shirt. 

"Please, Professor." 

Shiro takes a sharp intake of breath at the use of his title. 

Keith notices and pulls back enough to look at him.

"You like that, don't you?" 

Keith pauses before adding. 

"_Professor_." 

Shiro does it again and can already feel himself getting hard. 

"You're playing with fire, Keith."

"Did I ever give you the impression I was afraid to burn?"

Shiro growls softly and pulls Keith into a kiss as all his restraint goes out the window. 

"You have to be quiet; ok?" 

Shiro trails his lips back down to Keith's neck as his left hand caresses Keith's chest. Keith is already gasping softly and grinding into Shiro's lap.

"Professor..." 

Shiro pulls away enough to look at Keith's face.

"I mean it, Keith. You can't utter a single sound louder than a whisper or gasp. We'll keep doing this as long as you can keep quiet, but if you make any sound at all; I'll stop. Do you understand?"

Keith nods.

"Please, Professor..."

Shiro pulls Keith into another heated kiss.

Their tongues dance as their hands roam each other's body. Shiro loosens his tie a little so he can remove it. 

Keith breaks their kiss and shoots Shiro a look that goes straight to his dick.  Keith slowly unbuttons Shiro's shirt. As Keith moves down Shiro's body, he plants kisses all down Shiro's sternum. He kisses his way to Shiro's nipple and takes it into his mouth. Shiro groans softly as Keith licks and sucks and nibbles at it. After a few minutes, he continues his path down Shiro's abs until he's kneeling on the floor. He shoots Shiro another look when he sees Shiro was undoing his belt the whole time.

"You're eager for me to have your dick in my mouth, aren't you, _Professor_?"  


Shiro growls lightly down at him.

"You want that extra credit, don't you?" 

If Keith wants to be the naughty student seducing his professor, he doesn't have an issue being the professor that's being seduced.

Keith pulls out Shiro's dick and licks a slow stripe up the underside of it, earning him a shutter from Shiro. He repeats the motion a few more times, drawing a shutter and a silent moan as he does. That moan turns into a silent gasp when Keith takes the head into his mouth. Keith runs his tongue over the slit of Shiro's cock and Shiro has to press the back of his hand into his mouth to keep himself from breaking his own rule. Keith make a noise of approval as he does it again two more times before taking Shiro all the way down to the base. Shiro muffles a moan against his hand as Keith works Shiro's cock in and out of his mouth, every so often licking the precum out of the slit.

After a few minutes, Shiro puts his hand on Keith's head. Keith knows the wordless signal and pulls off to look at him.

"That's enough."  


Shiro moves his hand under Keith's chin.

"Stand for me." 

Keith does and Shiro immediately stands up and presses him against the desk. He captures Keith's lips and slips his tongue into the younger man's mouth. His hands hike Keith's shirt above his pecks drawing a sharp breath from Keith. Shiro moves his right arm around Keith as his left hand moves down to Keith's nipple to roll it between his thumb and forefinger. Keith moans softly into Shiro's mouth. Shiro slips a thigh between Keith's legs and revels in the sharp intake of breath he gets. He breaks the kiss to move his lips to give special attention to each of Keith's nipples. Keith grips Shiro's arms and bites his lip in an effort to stay quiet.  


Shiro didn't expect this to be the turn on it is. 

He can feel the tension in Keith's body as he resists the urge to moan and the knowledge goes straight to his dick. 

Shiro continues his assault on Keith's nipples; Keith whimpering and squirming as he grinds himself against Shiro's legs. After a few minutes, he blazes a trail down Keith's abs, unbuttoning the younger man's pants as he does. 

He looks Keith in the eye as he pulls out Keith's dick and takes it into his mouth. 

To Shiro, there's a special kind of pleasure he gets from going down on Keith. His dick in Shiro's mouth, his hand buried in Shiro's hair and tugging as Shiro keeps him right at the edge of pleasure Keith likes.  Keith likes the feeling of being pleasured a little more than he likes cumming (so long as you don't refuse to let him cum when the need hits). Shiro has learned exactly how to please Keith so that he stays right at that sweet spot right before the need to cum becomes too much.  Shiro moves grabs handfuls of Keith's ass as he sucks. 

When he starts to taste precum, he pulls off completely. 

Shiro stands up and pulls Keith into another fiery kiss. He breaks the kiss to pull Keith's shirt off. 

"Turn around," he breathes into Keith's lips.  


Keith does what he's told and Shiro immediately presses himself flush against Keith's back. He slides his left hand down Keith's abs while the right one slides up to Keith's chest and shoulders drawing a shiver of pleasure from the younger man that makes Shiro moan softly as he presses a gentle kiss into Keith's shoulder.

"Those tutoring sessions really paid off; didn't they?"

He reaches his right hand into his briefcase and pulls out a small bottle of lube. 

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought of doing this exact thing.  


"Please, Professor..." 

Shiro nibbles Keith's ear as he responds. 

"Is there something you need?" 

"You... In me." 

Shiro chuckles.

He presses his hand against Keith's back and Keith instinctively bends over the desk. As Shiro pushes Keith's pants down a little more, he puts the lube in his back pocket and decides to tease Keith a little bit. Shiro slides his hand up Keith's back as he kneels down behind Keith. He moves both hands to Keith's as and spreads them. Keith gasps silently as Shiro slides his tongue across the younger man's hole. Shiro laves at the hole a few more times before pushing his tongue in. He can feel the tension in Keith's body as he resists the urge to moan out loud and it makes Shiro pre-cum in his pants.  


"Please Professor..." 

Shiro smirks up at the plea. 

"Something wrong?" 

"I need more..." 

Shiro kisses his way back up Keith's body until he's flush against his back with his mouth next to Keith's ear.

"You need to be specific, Keith. Tell me what you want." 

"More of you."

Shiro lubes up his finger and teases it on the entrance of Keith's hole drawing another sharp intake of breath. He pushes the finger in and watches Keith's mouth drop open in a silent gasp. Once he feels Keith adjust, Shiro works the finger in and out of him slowly. He adds more lube before adding a second finger. The only sound other than Keith's soft gasps and pants and the sound of the teacher talking in the room next door is a quiet squelch as Shiro fingers Keith open.

"Professor..." 

Shiro shutters at the title.

He leans his mouth next to Keith's ear. 

"Say it, Keith. What do you want from your Professor?"

It takes Keith a moment to answer as Shiro brushes his prostate and Keith stops himself at the last second from crying out.

"Fuck me, Professor..." he almost whimpers.

Shiro withdraws his fingers, drawing a whimper from Keith. As Shiro preps his dick, he thinks for a moment after noticing Keith's near slip-up. He lines himself up with Keith's hole as he leans flush against his lover's back until his mouth is next to Keith's ear.

"Do you want me to help you stay quiet?" 

Keith nods.

"I'm going to cover your mouth; ok?" 

When Keith nods his consent, Shiro puts his left hand over Keith's mouth.

"Is this ok?"

Keith nods again.

"You still can't moan too loud." 

Before Keith can respond, Shiro hilts himself in a single thrust. Keith moans softly against Shiro's hand at it. Shiro positions his hand carefully so Keith can breathe through his nose before pulling out and thrusting in again hard.

He repeats the action over and over, his hand muffling more of Keith's moans.  


"That's it. You like that, don't you." Shiro breathes into Keith's ear. "You like having your professor fuck you over his desk; don't you?." 

Keith's muffled moans are getting faster. 

"And you take me so well. You really wanted that extra credit? You feel so good."

Shiro can feel his own pleasure mounting as he takes Keith's dick into his hand and starts pumping. 

"Does that feel good? Is your Professor giving you what you need?" 

Keith nods.

"Look at you... so good for your Professor..."

Shiro's getting close and he can tell by Keith's frantic soft moans that he is too.  


"You want your Professor to cum inside you, don't you? You want my cum in you?"

Shiro hears a muffled "Please, Professor" and its enough to push him over the edge.

Shiro presses his mouth against Keith's shoulder to keep himself quiet as their orgasms hit them at the same time.

Shiro keeps thrusting until both their orgasms end and they collapse boneless on the desk panting. 

The entire time, the teacher continued their lecture uninterrupted and unaware of the shenanigans taking place in the room next door.

When he catches his breath, Shiro presses a kiss into Keith's shoulder.

"God, I love you Keith..." 

Keith tenses. 

"You mean it?  You're not just saying that because of the sex, right?" 

He sounds so insecure Shiro looks at him. 

"Of course I mean it." 

S hiro remembers. 

"Has no one ever told you they loved you and meant it?"

"Other than my brother, no. My parents would sometimes, but they always took it back if I did live up to their expectations which were sky high. Even after I wasn't living with them anymore... People talk; you know?"

Shiro holds Keith tighter.

"I promise you, Keith. I mean it. I'm not just saying that to fuck you. I mean, I love being intimate with you, but I also love just being with you. I love seeing you on campus and I love talking to you and having you in my arms like this. I love how easy it is to talk to you and how good you are. You're such a good person Keith and you have such a big heart. How could I **not** love you?" 

Keith snuggles back into Shiro's arms. 

"Ok."  


Shiro presses a kiss into Keith's lips before pulling out of him. He quickly grabs tissues from his bag and cleans them both up before they help each other get dressed. Keith helps Shiro with his tie then uses it to pull Shiro in for a kiss. 

"I love you too," Keith breathes.

Keith pulls away. 

"We should leave separately," he tells Shiro. 

Shiro looks at him a little puzzled. 

"Why? There are no cameras or anything?" 

"I know, its just..."

Keith looks away for a moment before looking back at Shiro.

"Its just in case."

Shiro is still confused but agrees. When Keith leaves, he frowns. 

That's the first indication Shiro gets that something's amiss.

~

The next comes a few weeks later while snuggling in a chair at Keith's apartment with Keith sitting sideways across Shiro's lap as they watch the sunset. 

"H...Hey Shiro?" 

"Hmm?"

Keith hesitates a moment.

"I... think we should keep the more romantic parts of our relationship off campus for a while..."

Shiro looks down at him. 

"Why? Did something happen?" 

Keith snuggles deeper into Shiro's arms. 

"I just... I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

Shiro's confusion must show on his face because Keith continues before he can ask. 

"You're a great professor with a great reputation... I don't want you to lose that if you're caught with a student."

Shiro connects the dots. 

"Keith, we're consenting adults."

"That's not how they'll see it the minute they find out I have autism." 

Shiro looks at Keith sadly. 

"Keith, we've been through this..." 

"You don't understand..." 

Shiro sighs. 

"Please... help me understand." 

Keith is silent for a moment.

"A lot of the time, the first thing people think when they hear "autism" is mentally disabled or the R word. So when they hear a person has autism, the first thing they think is that they're mentally disabled or the R word."

"But you're not."

"No shit, really?!" 

Keith immediately realizes he snapped at Shiro and looks down.

"Sorry..." 

Shiro waits for Keith to continue.

"Many of us on the Spectrum actually are, but just as many aren't. The problem is not enough people know that its possible to be on the Spectrum and not be the R word. So if people find out you're with me, they won't see two consenting adults in a relationship. They'll see a college professor assaulting a mentally disabled person." 

"How do you know?" 

Keith looks at him. 

"How do you think my parents found out I was gay?"  


Shiro gasps, but waits for Keith to continue. 

"When I was 16 I had a boyfriend. I grew up with him so we were pretty good friends by that point. He knew I wasn't mentally disabled too. Well, one day we were caught kissing.  He was expelled for "misconduct". No amount of me telling them I'm not mentally disabled and that I was a willing participant would make them reverse it." 

"That's terrible!" 

"That was a slap on the wrist compared to what the school wanted to happen to him. That's how my parents found out. The school wanted them to press charges. They didn't. They both knew I was a willing participant. Even if I had been sexually assaulted, I doubt they would have even then. They would told me I deserved it for being a..."  


Keith stops himself. 

He doesn't need to fill in the blank. 

"They only cared that I was caught kissing another guy. That night, they disowned me and kicked me out of their house. That's also when I dropped out of high school." 

"You dropped out?" 

Keith nods.

"I could have gone back and James told me he didn't blame me for what happened, but it felt unfair." 

Shiro tightens his hold on Keith.

"I'm guessing you got your GED?" 

Keith nods.

"My point is, I got lucky that time. I don't want to risk another boyfriend's life to being ruined because of me." 

Shiro hugs Keith again.

"What brought this on?"

Keith sighs. 

"Some of the other students have been talking." 

Shiro frowns. 

"What are they saying?"

"Its nothing I'm not used to. They like to throw the R word around a lot. I think they're jealous of the extra time I spend with you. Thing is, right now they're only talking like I'm getting unfair attention for being disabled. If just one of them were to see us... I don't want another boyfriend's life to be ruined because of me." 

Shiro sighs. 

"Alright. If it makes you feel better, we'll keep our relationship completely professional on campus for a while." 

Keith gives him an appreciative smile.

Shiro tilts his face to look at him. 

"However, I want you to know that I have no regrets about our relationship, even if it one day costs me my job and reputation." 

Shiro presses their foreheads together.

"These past few months have been some of the best I've ever had. You can never ruin my life, Keith. You improve it."

Keith pulls Shiro into a soft kiss before snuggling into Shiro's arms again. 

~

For the next month, they keep their romantic relationship completely off campus. 

Then, for no apparent reason, Keith ghosts him for a week and a half. Shiro knows Keith's on campus but he's avoiding him.

"I believe something is amiss," Lotor tells Shiro when he asks. 

"That much I figured out on my own. Do you know what?" 

Lotor sighs.

"Unfortunately, he's been shutting me out as well. However, I have a theory as to what is likely occurring."

"Which is?"

"At a guess, he is likely being harassed." 

Shiro looks at Lotor suddenly.

"You think the other students are picking on him?"

"Given what he told you and what I know from experience? Absolutely. He is undoubtedly shutting us out in an effort to "protect us" from it."

Turns out, Lotor was right. 

Toward the end of the second week, Allura runs into Shiro's class while he's teaching. From the look on her face, he can tell its something serious.

"Shiro, there's been an incident."

Shiro lets his class go early before following Allura to her office.

Keith is sitting on the couch in Allura's office with Coran bandaging his knuckles. His face is bruised and he has a split lip, but that's the least of Shiro's concerns. From the look on Keith's face, he's having a catatonic meltdown. Matt and Adam are standing outside the office with Lotor watching him through the window into Allura's office.

"Lotor, what happened?!" 

"It is as we suspected," Lotor tells him. "Professor Weiss might explain it better." 

Shiro turns to Adam.  


"He was in a fight. 4 against 1. Guess who was the one." 

"4 against 1?!"

"We believe there were others, but yes," Allura tells him. 

Shiro frowns and looks back at Keith.

"Are there any other injuries besides the ones we see?" 

"Bruises, skinned hands and knees, possibly a bruised rib. Nothing too bad."

Adam turns to Shiro. 

"You should see three of the other guys." 

Shiro looks at his ex. 

"I'm guessing you broke them up?"

Adam nods.

"Was heading to the mailroom when I heard the commotion. When I got there, I found Keith beating the shit out of one.  Two of the others were already on the ground. The fourth weasel had the nerve to claim Keith jumped them."

Matt looks incredulously at Adam. 

"In a 4 against 1 fight?! Fucking seriously?!"

"That was my reaction." 

Shiro looks back at Keith.

"How long has he been like this?"

"Since I brought him in," Lotor tells him.

Shiro turns to Matt.

"Any chance you can find the security footage from that spot?" 

"Pidge and Hunk are doing that as we speak." 

"I will remain with my brother," Lotor volunteers.

~

Matt takes Shiro and Adam to the security monitor room. Pidge and Hunk look up as they enter. 

"Just in time!" Pidge tells them. 

"We just found the right footage." 

"Show us." 

Hunk looks at Shiro. 

"I'm gonna warn you, man. It's not easy to watch at first."

"Noted. Show us." 

Pidge pulls up the footage.

_ Keith enters the courtyard between the library, main office, Science building, and faculty building. He stops in his tracks and turns to run back the way he came when he stops when he sees something off camera. Keith backs up until he's in the middle of the courtyard as a group of 8 students enter the shot from each path.  _

"Can we identify these students from this?" Shiro asks immediately.

"If not from this camera, from the others in that courtyard," Matt tells him.

_Keith says something. There's no sound, but Shiro swears he can hear the "Leave me alone" anyway. The 8 of them circle Keith like a pack of hyenas on a single lion. One of them says something before shoving Keith into two others who hold him firm._

Adam turns away as two start wailing on Keith while the others keep watch, but Shiro sets his jaw and refuses to look away. 

Every blow they land, every soundless cry of pain from Keith, Shiro watches. 

Silently.

He doesn't notice the way his fists are shaking at his side.

He doesn't notice the glare that forms on his face. 

He doesn't notice the concerned looks from Matt and Hunk. 

He doesn't notice the way Adam is looking at Shiro. 

All he sees is what's happening to Keith. 

_His_ Keith.

_ The two bullies holding Keith up throw him to the ground. As Keith picks himself up, two of them are talking.  Keith suddenly goes rigid at something they say.  A third bully notices and smirks. He starts saying something else as he and the other bullies circle Keith. Before he finishes speaking, Keith launches himself at the bully. The groups stares stunned as Keith beats the ever-loving shit out of this bully. Two of them try to pull Keith off their friend, but Keith just launches himself at a second bully to give him the same beating. _

"Am I supposed to feel bad for them, because I don't," Pidge asks.

"Beware the quiet ones," Matt adds. "I'd love to know what they said that made Keith finally snap."

Shiro says nothing as he watches.

_ Keith launch himself at a third bully who gets the same as the first two.  By now the four other bullies have fled, leaving only the three bullies on the ground plus one guy still standing. The fourth guy looks up and backs up as Adam runs into view with a dark-skinned man with a faculty badge. _

"Isn't that the head of the Communications department?" Shiro asks. "What's his name? Kevin?"

"Curtis," Adam corrects. "And yeah, that's him."

_ Adam points Curtis in the direction of the office. Curtis quickly runs in that direction. As Adam approaches them, the fourth bully says something to him that promptly gets him yelled at. _

"Just guessing that's when he said, "kEiTh JuMpEd Us"" Matt asks Adam. 

"Yep." 

_ Adam walks to the other side of Keith and gets down on his knees so Keith can see him.  Allura and Lotor come running up with Curtis then. While Allura sends Curtis in the direction of security, Lotor immediately drops to his knees beside Adam and starts talking to Keith. Keith stops mid-punch and looks up at Lotor.  After a few moments of Lotor speaking to him, Keith's face crumbles and he wraps his arms around his brother. Lotor hugs Keith back and carefully pulls Keith off the bully. Security comes running up as Lotor and Allura escort Keith toward the office. _

"There's definitely enough here for a self-defense lawsuit if the families of the students beaten up try to press charges," Hunk remarks.

Shiro steps to the back of the monitor room to compose himself. As tempting as it is to murder these bastards, it won't help.

As Shiro takes a deep breath to calm his rage, he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns and sees Adam standing there. 

"Lets go see if Keith's come out of his meltdown yet." 

Shiro agrees. 

On the walk back to the office, they cross the courtyard where it happened.

As Shiro takes a deep breath to calm his rage, he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns and sees Adam standing there. 

"Lets go see if Keith's come out of his meltdown yet." 

On the walk back to the office, they cross the courtyard where it happened. Shiro stops for a moment at nearest sidewalk and stares. 

As Shiro remembers the moment right before Keith started beating the shit out of the bully, he recalls what Keith said about the other students being jealous the amount of attention Shiro's giving Keith. Shiro knows what the mouth movements for 'Shirogane' looks like. He has a feeling he knows exactly what the other student said that made Keith snap. 

If Shiro's right...  


Adam silently steps up next to Shiro then after noticing Shiro wasn't walking with them anymore. 

"I'm not judging you if its true, but there's a rumor about you and Keith..." 

Shiro sighs. 

"I know..." 

"Is it true? Are the two of you..." 

S hiro nods.

"Though, its up to him if we still are after this," Shiro tells him.

Adam nods acceptingly. 

"I'm... sorry..." 

Shiro turns to Adam. 

"For the way I left."

Adam sighs. 

"In your defense, you weren't wrong. I shouldn't have been so dismissive of my students. And honestly, I think we both knew that was coming for a long time." 

Shiro smirks. 

"That's what Pidge said. "Shoot the damn horse already!" Those were her exact words."

Adam laughs.

"I am grateful that you stuck with me through my treatments and such," Shiro tells him.  


"I might be an asshole, but I'm not a complete dick." 

Shiro laughs as they continue walking back to the office. 

"So, I've seen you and Curtis together a lot this year." 

Adam blushes.

"We're just seeing where this goes."

They get back and find Lotor sitting next to Keith with the younger man leaning on him. Coran spots Shiro and Adam approaching. 

"Ah! Good, you've returned!" 

Allura turns to him. 

"He came out of his meltdown a little while ago. He was asking for you."

Without further comment, Shiro steps into the office. Keith doesn't look up at Shiro as he approaches but he knows Keith is aware he's there. 

"Could you guys give us a minute?" Shiro asks them all gently.

One by one, they all leave to give Shiro and Keith some privacy.

For a few seconds neither of them speaks. 

Shiro opens his mouth to speak but before he can, he hears... 

"I'm sorry." 

Shiro is immediately taken aback by how timid and fragile Keith sounds. 

"What?" 

Keith's looking down at his bandaged hands that are clenched in his lap.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." 

Drops of water are falling onto Keith's hands and Shiro's heart breaks.

"I'm sorry I was avoiding you... I'm sorry..." 

Shiro immediately drops to his knees in front of Keith and takes the younger man's hands in his own.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. If anyone should be apologizing, its me."

Tears are rolling down Shiro's face as he continues.

"I had a feeling something was wrong the moment you told me you wanted to keep our relationship off campus, but I ignored it. If I'd looked into it when you told me students were getting jealous, maybe we could have avoided this."

"That's why I didn't tell you..."

Keith sniffles. 

"I didn't want them to accuse you of playing favorites."

"Keith..."  


"It didn't matter anyway. Even after everything, they were still going to accuse you of raping me." 

"That's what made you finally snap, isn't it?" 

Shiro's question was more a statement, but Keith still nods.

Shiro rubs his thumbs across the backs of Keith's hands. 

"Keith. Can you look at me please?" 

Keith looks up at Shiro with red, tear-filled eyes. 

"Do you want out?" Shiro asks him tearfully. "I promise, I won't be angry or hurt if you do. You didn't ask for this."

Keith slides off the couch then and wraps his arms around Shiro's neck.

"No! I don't want that! I love you!" 

Shiro wraps his arms around Keith and holds him tight. 

"I love you, Shiro." 

Shiro hugs Keith tighter. 

"I love you too."

~

Keith is given a week off from class while the school deals with the aftermath of the fight. 

At Shiro's insistence, Matt reviews camera footage all the way back to January.  What he finds is that these bullies had actually memorized the routes Keith takes everyday between classes and just waited in spots along those routes that were usually deserted at the time to pick on him. It had slowly built up over time until it boiled over.

The three bullies Keith beats up are immediately taken to the hospital. All three have grade 3 concussions and a cracked skull, one has a broken nose and the others have black eyes. They wake up a day later and remain in the hospital for a few days after that. Their parents attempt to press charges. After being shown the camera footage of their kids harassing Keith for several months leading up to the fight and a quick word from Lotor however, the charges are quickly dropped.  


All the students involved are identified and then expelled. 

By the end of Keith's second year, life has calmed down somewhat. Things remain that way for an entire year. Its not until fall term of Keith's fourth and final year that things start shaking again.


	3. College professor/student AU! Part 2

Shiro is walking back to his office from a class when he sees Lotor talking to a large, imposing man and a tiny lady with long, white hair. Lotor doesn't look like he's particularly enjoying the conversation either. Shiro doesn't think much of it and continues on his way. 

Shiro enters his office and immediately stops when he finds Keith huddled in the far corner with the hood of his jacket over his head and looking as small as possible. He's crying and rocking.

"Oh no..." 

Shiro walks swiftly but calmly over to where Keith is huddled.  


He silently kneels down in front of Keith, but he knows better than to touch him yet.

"I'm here, Keith." 

Keith stops rocking but stays huddled in the corner.  Several minutes go by like that, but Shiro sits and waits patiently for the meltdown to subside.

After about 10 minutes, Keith takes a deep breath; letting Shiro know its safe to touch Keith now. As Shiro sits beside Keith on the floor, Keith leans into his side. Keith opens his mouth to say what Shiro already knows is an apology. 

Shiro isn't having it.

He tilts Keith's face up and kisses him gently on the lips. 

"What triggered your meltdown?" Shiro asks him gently.

"My parents are here. I haven't seen them since I was 16."

Shiro frowns immediately. 

"Was that the couple I saw talking to Lotor?" 

Keith nods.

"Do you know why they're here?" 

Keith shakes his head. 

"I just want them to leave!" 

"Do you want me to call Allura to take you home?" 

Keith shakes his head. 

"Not safe!" 

"Allura's not safe or your home is not safe?" 

"Both."

Shiro frowns at first because he knows for a fact Keith trusts Allura. 

Then he realizes "Allura's not safe" has a double meaning. 

"You mean it's not safe for Allura?" 

Keith nods. 

"Why?" 

"Dad's not a good person. Neither is Mom. How do you think Lotor learned to be intimidating?  Its not safe to go home and I don't want to put Allura or anyone in danger to get me home or anywhere off campus." 

Shiro's heart aches. Even when he's fearing for his own safety, he's still worrying about others too.

God he loves this man!

The next day, Shiro gets the "pleasure" of meeting their parents himself when they show up at his office. 

"My name is Zarkon and this is my lovely wife, Honerva."

"DOCTOR Honerva." 

"Can I help you two with something?" 

"We have from a reliable source that you spend a lot of time with our son."

Shiro raises an eyebrow at them with a poker face.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"Keith." 

"You realize I have a lot of students named Keith in my class, right?" 

"Not like this one," Zarkon tells him. 

"He's autistic," Dr. Honerva continues.

Shiro maintains his poker face. 

"What about him?" 

"We simply wished to know how he was doing?" 

"I'm sorry, but that information is classified," Shiro tells them. 

"Well, we'd ask him ourselves but he ran away from home when he was 16. We haven't spoken to him since." 

"Do you know where he lives, by chance?" Zarkon asks.

So they don't know where his apartment is? 

"I'm sorry, that information is classified even if I did know."

Honerva sighs sadly.

"He has always been a difficult child. We've done our best but still..."

Zarkon and Dr. Honerva talk to him for the better part of an hour. 

Zarkon is very charismatic and fair man and Shiro's a little unnerved by how much Dr. Honerva reminds him of Pidge. In fact, Shiro gets the impression that they're harmless, caring, loving parents who genuinely want what's best for their son and are genuinely worried for his safety.  


Or at least he would, were it not for the fact that the entire time they paint Keith to be a selfish, ungrateful discipline case with a violent temper who wronged them (not to mention, Shiro trusts Keith's word over theirs.)

After an hour, they finally end of their spiel. 

"I sympathize with your problems, but that doesn't change the fact that everything involving a student's private information and account are strictly classified between them and the school. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

Shiro stands to escort them out. 

"Now if you excuse me, I have papers to grade." 

Zarkon stands and Shiro gets the impression they're in a standoff or a staring contest as they stare firmly into each others eyes without blinking. After several minutes, Zarkon folds.

"Come along dear," he tells his wife. "We've reached another dead end, I'm afraid."

Even after they've left, Shiro doesn't for the life of him think that that's the end of it. 

He sends a quick text to Lotor to warn Keith and continues about his business.  He's more than a little glad all of his files on Keith have been moved to the main office as he erases all texts from Keith on his phone and changes Keith's name in his phone to "Baby". He then texts a warning to Matt and Allura.  


When Shiro leaves that evening, he notices a car following him. For about a mile, the car follows him. Frowning, Shiro quickly sends a text to Allura and his friend Iverson, who is a ex-Navy Seal. He explains the situation and Iverson meets him just inside the door to the parking lot. The car is still behind Shiro when he pulls into Iverson's apartment complex. 

"Thanks for letting me stop here to shake these guys," Shiro says as Iverson takes him to his apartment.

"Not a problem," Iverson tells him.  


They get into Iverson's apartment, which has a spectacular view of the parking lot. Parked near his car is the one that was following him.

"Yep, they're still there," Shiro tells him.

"Who did you say these people were?" 

"My boyfriend's parents."

"Jesus Christ! You weren't kidding about them being controlling!" 

Shiro looks at Iverson.

"I can't be seen leaving here. I don't want to lead them to my boyfriend's location. Right now, they don't know where he is and I want to keep it that way."

"I got just the thing!" 

They slip out through the back door of the apartment complex that leads to the parking garage for the service trucks and vans. 

"Get in the back of the van and leave the driving to me."

Shiro does what he's told and sure enough, Iverson drives right past the car without the driver noticing. 

Shiro sends a text and Iverson drives to a town 2 miles south of them to a gas station where a car waits with a dark-haired man who looks just like Shiro; but with brown eyes and a more rounded face.  


"Fancy seeing you here."

Shiro hops out of the van. 

"Hey Ryou." 

Shiro hugs his little brother. 

"Thanks for the lift, Iverson." 

"Anytime. You can keep your car at my place as long as you need to."

"Thanks." 

Shiro gets in Ryou's car and he drives them to a nearby neighborhood. 

"How's he been?" Shiro asks. 

"Understandably scared shitless."

He drives them through the gate for the neighborhood and to a house deep inside.  Keith meets them when they get there. 

He runs to Shiro and throws his arms around him. 

"Hey, its ok..." 

Shiro wraps his arms around Keith. 

"I'm here, Baby." 

Tears are rolling down Keith's face. 

"I'm so glad you're safe." 

Shiro hugs him tight.

Shiro leads Keith inside where they're greeted by Shiro's twin nephews and toddler niece.

"Uncle Takashi!" 

"Hey you two!" 

"Boys, go play in the backyard for a while," Ryou tells them. 

The boys run for the backdoor with the toddler following behind them.

"Keep an eye on your sister!" 

Shiro looks down at Keith still clinging to him like he'll disappear. He carefully guides Keith to the couch. It takes him a good 15 minutes to calm Keith down enough to talk. By then, Allura, Pidge, and Matt join them.

"I don't understand something," Pidge begins. "Why now?" 

"What do you mean?" Shiro asks. 

"I mean, Keith's been going to this college for four years. Did they know your brother works here?" 

Keith nods.

"They knew he worked and went there and that I'd likely run to him, but they seemed to care."

"Exactly! So why the sudden interest?"

"It might have something to do with the DNA test I'm supposed to do for one of my classes," Keith tells them.

"That is rather odd that they show up the day after you were given the assignment," Allura agrees. 

"Which makes me wonder..." Keith adds contemplatively.

"Wonder what?" Shiro asks him.

"Well, I've always kinda suspected that my father isn't actually my father."

"What makes you say that?" Shiro asks.

Keith looks at Shiro.

"I look nothing like anyone in my family.  Shiro, you've seen my parents and you know Lotor. Do you see any kind of resemblance at all?"

"Now that you mention it, I don't."

"And now they don't want me to get a DNA test. What are they hiding? Did mom have an affair? Could I possibly have a father that doesn't know about me?"

"You know, we can run a DNA test and such at our lab," Matt tells him. 

"I could ask my wife to bring a few DNA kits home from the hospital tonight." 

"And we can run them in our lab," Pidge says. 

"We would just need to get DNA from Keith's parents," Allura points out.  


Pidge shakes her head.

"Actually, we could just run the test using Lotor's DNA. If they're fathers are different, it'll show."

"How long will it take?" Keith asks. 

"About a week," Ryou says. "In the meantime, you're welcome to stay."

"I will inform your professors of the situation," Allura tells them. 

"Cancel my classes too, while you're at it," Shiro tells her.

He looks down at Keith still clinging to him.

"I'm not leaving you while you need me."

~

For the next week, Keith and Shiro stay with Shiro's brother while DNA test is being done. A week and a half later, they get the results.

Its worse than they thought.

"We're not related at all?!" Keith asks. 

"DNA tests don't lie," Pidge tells him. 

Keith looks at Lotor. 

"Does that mean we're not..." 

"NO!" 

Lotor cuts him off and pulls Keith into a one armed hug until their foreheads are touching. 

"Biological or not, you are my brother. There is no force, be it natural or unnatural that will _ever_ change that." 

Keith smiles at his brother.

Lotor turns to Pidge.

"Though I **am** confused. Mother was definitely pregnant for 9 months right before Keith was brought home." 

"Could the babies have been switched, like in that one show with the deaf kids?" Hunk asks. 

"One way to find out," Pidge says.

Pidge runs a search for births the day Keith was born in the town he was born in. There was only one Keith born in that hospital. 

Except his last name wasn't Daibazaal.

"Kogane?" Keith asks. 

Matt runs a separate search on the name. 

The first thing that pops up is a news article.

** 'BABY KIDNAPPED FROM HOSPITAL NURSERY' **

"I think we may have found what they were hiding..."

"Why though?" Hunk asks. "I mean according to Lotor, they were expecting a kid of their own. Why steal one?"

"It was a stillbirth." Ryou tells them simply.

"How do you know?" Allura asks.

"If anyone knows about things like this, its him," Shiro says. "Ryou's a labor and delivery nurse."

"Its why hospital nurseries and natal units are so heavily guarded. Whenever there's a stillbirth, the room the recovering mother is in, as well as the nursery, will be heavily watch by security because what sometimes happens is the mother that lost her baby, in her grief addled mind, will simply steal another from the hospital nursery."  


"How awful!" Allura says. 

"So, what now?" Lance asks. 

Before they can answer, Keith puts his hands over his ears and crouches right where he stands behind Matt's chair with his eyes closed.

"Oh no..." 

Shiro crouches down beside him.

"A meltdown?" 

Ryou's question is more of a statement. 

"Honestly, I would have been surprised if he **_didn't_** have a meltdown from this," Pidge states. "This is a lot to handle for a neurotypical person, let alone someone on the Spectrum."

Lotor and Shiro gently talk Keith through his meltdown. When he comes out of it, Keith looks exhausted as he leans on Shiro for support. 

"I think we should table this for a while, guys."  


"I concur with Shiro," Lotor says as Shiro scoops Keith into his arms. "We shall determine what to do once Keith has rested." 

Shiro carries Keith upstairs to the spare bedroom at the Holt's lab and lays him down gently on the queen sized bed.  He covers Keith up and turns to leave when he feels a tug on his sleeve. 

Keith is too tired to say anything, but his pleading eyes say everything. 

Shiro quickly climbs in bed with Keith and pulls Keith into his arms. Keith drifts off to sleep. Shiro holds Keith in his arms and watches over him as he sleeps; his head pillowed on Shiro's bicep for the next hour and a half.

"Shiro?" 

Shiro presses a kiss into Keith's forehead as he blinks his eyes open. 

"I'm here, Baby."

Shiro pulls back and looks at the man in his arms.

"Do I need to ask how you're doing?"

Keith's silence is answer enough. 

When he talks again its very quiet.

"When I was little... I would daydream my brother and I were adopted... and that there were people out there looking for us... who would love us... but I always understood... that that was just my childish way to cope with growing up with abusive parents who didn't love us."

Keith sniffles and wipes his wrist across his face. 

"But this... everything I knew was a lie... I'm not related to ANY of them... I mean... I knew I didn't look like her either, but I just chalked that up to her having had an affair and me looking like my real father..."

Keith looks up at Shiro looking so lost, it breaks Shiro's heart.

"What do I do now?"

Shiro brushes his lips across Keith's.

"When you're ready, we'll figure that out; ok?" 

They lay in comfortable silence for a bit.

"What if they don't love Lotor?"

Shiro feels a surge of affection for the younger man at his question. 

Even when his world is upside down, he still worries about others. 

Shiro kisses Keith's forehead again before pressing their foreheads together. 

"Patience, My Love. One thing at a time."

Keith yawns then. Shiro chuckles at him with an endeared look. 

"Rest some more, Baby. We can talk more later." 

Keith snuggles into Shiro's arms. 

"I like being in your arms..." he mumbles as he falls asleep again. "Feels safe..."

Just like that, Shiro's crying like a bitch.

Tears roll down his face as he pulls Keith tight against his chest. Shiro holds Keith protectively in his arms as he cries silently for everything the man in his arms has been through and everything he will likely go through in the near future.  


Shiro must have drifted off himself because the next thing he knows, he's being kissed awake by Keith. They head downstairs hand in hand to find the others all chilling around the lab. 

Lotor looks up when they enter and walks to them. 

"Feeling better?"

Keith nods.

"So... what now?" Keith asks.

"Well, I did research and it looks like the search is still ongoing," Matt says as he pulls up several updated fliers with artist renderings. "The last update was 5 years ago." 

"At least we know they haven't stopped looking," Pidge says.

"There's a phone number. Maybe we can just call it," Lance suggests. 

"What of Zarkon and Dr. Honerva?" Allura asks. "Surely we cannot let them get away with this." 

"One thing at a time, Allura," Shiro says. "For now, lets call the number and go from there."

Lotor calls the number and arranges for a detective to come out and validate their claim. The detective is a large man who takes one look at Keith and immediately knows they're telling the truth. 

Lotor then explains the situation and works out a plan with them.

Lotor adamantly refuses to let Keith be used as bait, but offers himself instead.

"He has been enough. However, they have been frequently stopping in my office lately for tea a couple times a week ever since this all began. I believe they wished to catch Keith there themselves. If you station someone there undercover, we might be able to apprehend them."

That's exactly what happens. 

They have the detectives stationed with Matt in security until they see Zarkon and Dr. Honerva meet Lotor for tea in his office. While in Lotor's office, the surrounding area is discreetly cleared of bystanders.  As they leave Lotor's office, they're immediately arrested for kidnapping.  


Lotor looks on remorselessly as they're handcuffed and put in a squad car.  Allura stands outside the building where Shiro's office is with Coran and watches them get loaded into a police car and driven away.

The entire time this is happening, Keith is curled up on the couch in Shiro's office with the door locked, just in case. He's sound asleep with his head in Shiro's lap as Shiro soothingly cards his fingers through Keith's hair.

~

A week later, they contact Keith's birth parents and arrange for them all to meet. 

The night before they're to meet, Keith stays at Shiro's apartment and frets over it. Shiro soothes Keith as best as he can. 

After a while, Shiro stops him all together with a single kiss.

"That's enough of that for one night..."

"But..."

Shiro cuts him off with another kiss while making an 'uh-uh' sound. 

"No more worrying tonight..." 

Shiro's kisses Keith again lazily. 

He gently maneuvers his lover so Keith's laying on the bed with Shiro on top of him. 

"Looks like I need to distract you..." Shiro breathes into Keith's mouth between kisses.

"Please..." 

Keith pulls him into a fiery, frenzied kiss, but Shiro quickly guides him into a kiss that's slow and sweet like molasses but warms Keith from the inside out.  


"Slow down, Baby... What's the rush? We've got all night..." 

Keith whimpers into Shiro's lips as Shiro slips his tongue into Keith's mouth. 

Shiro spends a good 15 minutes making out with Keith before trailing his lips down to Keith's neck. Keith's hands start to slip down Shiro's body, but Shiro quickly removes them and pins them above Keith's head. 

Shiro nibbles Keith's ear before pulling back.

"No touching... Tonight is about you, Keith... Your pleasure, and your pleasure alone."  


Keith looks up at him puzzled. 

"But I like pleasing you." 

Shiro gently caresses Keith's face as he looks down at him fondly. 

"I know... and I _LOVE_ it... but I want to make you feel good, Keith. You've been through a lot lately and I want to spoil you a little."

Keith nods and Shiro resumes mapping Keith's body with his lips. 

Shiro gently kisses his way to Keith's chest.

"Do you have _any_ idea how breathtaking you are?" 

Keith looks at Shiro and shakes his head. 

"I didn't think so..."

Shiro slowly drags his tongue across Keith's skin to one of his nipples. Once there, he swirled his tongue around the nipple before taking it into his mouth; pulling a moan from Keith. Shiro continues like this for 15 minutes; nibbling and licking and sucking the whole time. Eventually he continues down Keith's body, taking his time to press his lips to every part of Keith's body until eventually he gets to Keith's cock; standing hard and waiting for him. 

Shiro takes his time with that too, spending a long time just mouthing it; earning him moans.  


Finally Shiro takes the tip into his mouth, drawing a gasp and a moan from Keith. After a few minutes, Shiro takes Keith's cock all the way into his mouth. 

Keith moans louder as he buries his fingers in Shiro's hair.

They continue like this for the next hour with Shiro sucking Keith's cock slowly and sensually; Keith moaning loudly the entire time. Shiro feels a great deal of satisfaction at hearing Keith moan as he writhes with pleasure while Shiro sucks his dick.

"Takashi..."

Shiro looks up at Keith as he sucks the younger man's dick. 

He's only ever "Takashi" when Keith's about to cum and they discovered not long ago that Keith can cum more than once.

With that knowledge in mind, Shiro holds Keith's hips in place and doubles down on sucking Keith's dick.

Keith's moans get louder and more frantic and Shiro is more than a little grateful to have a basement apartment. Shiro groans at the death grip Keith has on his hair as the other man's hips try to squirm and buck.

Shiro keeps them in place and continues the pace.

"Shi... Prof... Takas... I'm..."

Shiro smiles around Keith's dick.

His favorite thing in this universe is to please Keith to the point where he switches between his name, title, and given name.

With a long, loud moan, Keith's cum explodes into Shiro's mouth. Shiro doesn't pull off until he's swallowed every salty drop with a groan.

Shiro wipes his mouth as he moves up the bed where Keith lays panting. He immediately pulls Keith into another kiss.

"I'm not done with you yet..."

For the next several hours, Shiro pleases Keith. First with fingers, then a toy while he opens himself up, then with himself as he rides Keith until he cums a second time.

The entire time, Shiro focuses solely on Keith's pleasure while ignoring his own.

Shiro lubes his own dick and lines it up with Keith's hole before pushing in, drawing a moan from Keith. Once Keith has adjusted, Shiro starts thrusting.

Shiro fucks Keith for the next hour. Keith is delirious from pleasure as Shiro changes their positions. First with Keith beneath Shiro, then on top of Shiro, then with them both sitting upright with Keith in Shiro's lap. Shiro watches Keith moan helplessly with pleasure the whole time. He can feel his own pleasure cresting. He changes their positions one last time so Keith bends over the bed with his ass hanging off while Shiro stands and fucks him (because apparently they both REALLY enjoyed Shiro fucking Keith over the desk in the portable that one time. Even the part with Shiro covering Keith's mouth.

Even though he knows Keith loves it, Shiro still feels like he should ask every time.

"Want me to cover your mouth with my hand?"

Keith nods vigorously.

Shiro positions his hand carefully over Keith's mouth so he can breathe before continuing to fuck him slow and hard. After about 15 minutes, Shiro cums inside Keith; filling him with Shiro's cum. Shiro can tell Keith has a little while to go before he cums completely.

Shiro gets an idea.

"Want me to eat you out?"

Keith nods before asking.

"Can we use the muzzle we just got?"

Shiro turns Keith's face toward him and gently caresses Keith's lips with his own.

"Whatever you want, Baby. Tonight is about what you want."

Shiro pulls out and quickly retrieves the muzzle before helping Keith put it on.

"Ready?"

Keith nods.

Shiro slides his hand up Keith's back, drawing a sound of approval from Keith. Shiro spreads Keith's cheeks and groans at the sight of Keith's dripping hole. He drags his tongue across it and draws a gasp from Keith. Slowly and sensually, he laps up the cum dripping from Keith, making Keith moan into the muzzle. Shiro repeats the motion a few more times before pushing his tongue into Keith's hole.

He continues his slow, sensual, but relentless pace, dawing muffled moans that grow louder and louder as he fucks Keith with his tongue and fingers.

Keith moans helplessly into the muzzle. All Keith can think is how good he feels. He doesn't want this feeling to end.

Shiro knows.

He always knows.

That's why he drags it out as long as he can, enjoying the muffled sounds coming from Keith as he eats him out.

30 minutes later, Keith lets out a long moan as he cums hard. Shiro doesn't stop until Keith has collapsed on the bed panting.

Keith is boneless as Shiro stands and removes the muzzle. He can't resist the endearded smile that spreads across his faces when he sees the drowsy satisfaction on Keith's face. Shiro brushes his lips against Keith's cheek before getting a wet rag from the bathroom to clean them up. Once Shiro finishes and returns the rag to the bathroom, he rolls Keith over and moves his sleeping boyfriend into the bed. After removing and plugging in his prosthetic, he climbs into bed next to Keith. He then pulls Keith into his arms and quickly falls asleep.

~

The meeting isn't until 1pm so they sleep in. They're starting to wake up when Lotor arrives at 11am.

They get dressed while Lotor makes them breakfast. The detective arrives not long after they finish eating.

Shiro and Lotor join them at Keith's insistance; though they would have tagged along, regardless. Shiro opts to sit up front so Keith can sit with his brother. The entire drive Keith holds Lotor's hand nervously with Lotor reassuring him he's safe.

They drive out to the countryside through a farming town with fields of both crops and livestock. Soon they turn onto a farm with rows upon rows of fruit trees lining the left side of the long driveway and pastures on the right side. There are two pastures, one with horses, cows, and donkey's, and another with sheep and goats.

The car follows the driveway until they arrive at a 2-story farmhouse with a tire swing hanging from a tree in the front yard and a big barn visible behind it.

As they get out of the car, Shiro sees a couple walk outside and down the stairs with 2 daughters trailing behind them; 1 teenager and 1 preteen. The resemblance is undeniable. Keith looks like his mom with his dad's hair and eyes while his sister is the opposite. The younger sister is either adopted or has all recessive genes because she looks nothing like any of them.

Keith is so focused on the farm animals as he gets out of the car, he doesn't notice them until they reach the base of the stairs.

He quickly steps behind Lotor.

"At ease... I will let no one harm you..." Lotor soothes him.

Keith peaks around his brother shyly.

"Its alright, son. Take your time," Keith's father tells him understandingly.

"This must be overwhelming to you," his mom adds.

Keith nods.

Keith's dad turns to Lotor.

"Akira Kogane, this is my wife Krolia, and our two daughters; Acxa and Romelle."

"Just Lotor is fine for the moment."

"I understand you were the one who called in about our son," Krolia comments.

"I am, though I did not come seeking a reward. I merely came to give my brother something familiar to ground him as well as to ensure he is indeed safe here. No offense."

Akira and Krolia both smile.

"None taken. Its good someone has been looking after him all this time."

"As I assured him, blood relation or not; he is my brother."

Akira holds his hand out to Keith, who takes it hesitantly without letting go of Lotor's hand.

They head inside and Keith is lead to a couch where he is promptly greeted by a heavily pregnant dog.

"That's Stella," Krolia tells him.

Keith relaxes as he pets the dog.

"Are those llamas with your sheep?" Shiro asks as he looks out a window.

"They sure are," Akira confirms.

"They're called guard llamas," Keith explains without looking up from Stella. "Unlike domestic sheep who are extremely docile and relaxed, llamas are always alert for predators. Adding a llama, alpaca, or guanaco to a herd of sheep drastically reduces the amount of sheep lost to wildlife."

"That's right!"

There's a hint of pride in Akira's voice as he speaks.

"You know a lot about farming?"

"Specifically farm animals," Lotor explains. "He has always had an affinity for animals."

"I like animals..." Keith says calmly. "They don't care if you're gay or have autism."

Krolia sits beside him on the couch.

"I have autism as well."

Keith looks up at her suddenly.

"You do?"

She nods and Keith practically throws himself into her arms and hugs her tight. She's taken by surprise, but quickly hugs him back.

Keith clings to her, repeating the same sentence over and over...

"I'm not alone..."

Understanding dawns on Krolia's face and she hugs him back tighter.

Lotor looks at Akira.

"None other than Keith had autism in our family. He was frequently shamed for it growing up."

A look of pure murder crosses Krolia's face. Akira's expression is better schooled, but Shiro can see his fists trembling with anger.

"Hey, Kolivan?"

Akira turns non-nonchalantly to the detective.

"I don't suppose we could get a few minutes alone with them in a room?"

"As much as I would pay to see that, no."

"We just want to talk..."

Kolivan smirks.

"Even if I believed that were true, they're both under heavy security at the moment. Apparently she's not the only one with a criminal record."

"I am positively shocked..." Lotor remarks flatly.

"Apparently, he's the leader of the Galra Crime Syndicate. They've been kidnapping, murdering, and whatnot for God knows how long. We've been trying to get him for years. We've captured most of his guys, but one of his henchmen is still at large."

Shiro can see Keith tense in Krolia's arms.

"I am assuming you mean Sendak," Lotor guesses with a frown.

"You know him?"

"He practically lived at our house growing up. More importantly though, he is a source of unbridled terror for Keith."

As if to prove his point, Keith starts having a massive panic attack in Krolia's arms.

Krolia kneels in front of him to help calm him as the dog starts to whimper and lick Keith's face.

"Perhaps we can continue this discussion another time," she suggests.

As soon as they calm Keith down, his eyes start to droop.

"Might I suggest a nap?"

Keith nods at his brother's suggestion.

"There's a room for you upstairs!" Romelle exclaims.

Up until now, Romelle's been petting a cat while Acxa fidgets with her phone.

Keith smiles and lets his mom and sisters lead him up the stairs. 30 minutes later, his mom returns without them.

"Acxa has returned to her room and Romelle is glued to Keith's side."

Shiro looks at Lotor.

"What were you saying about Sendak?"

"Sendak is 15 years older than me and has always been in our family, but I do not believe he is related. Whenever I asked, I never got a straight answer. He has been OBSESSED with Keith since the day he was brought home. I cannot tell you the number of times I locked Keith and myself in a room when he was a baby. As he went through puberty, it got worse. He is now Keith's stalker. He is EXTREMELY possessive of Keith as well as abusive."

Lotor looks at Shiro.

"You recall the incident Keith mentioned with his boyfriend that got him outed?"

Shiro nods.

"It was **Sendak** who orchestrated it out of jealousy when he found out. When my brother was kicked out, it took me 2 years to locate him because Sendak found him first. It was only when Keith got the courage to flee that he showed up at my doorstep. He told me everything."

It hits Shiro then.

"Was it Sendak who tried to follow me home that one time?"

"Indeed it was. It is the reason Keith was so terrified when he heard. He knew exactly who was following you. It is also why he would not go home or let Allura escort him there. If Sendak had seen Allura taking him home, he would have tried to kill her."

"Allura's not exactly a shrinking violet though," Shiro comments while being thankful his brother's house is under his wife's family name.

"Do not underestimate Sendak," Lotor advises.

As the search for Sendak continues, Keith stays with his family, half to get better acquainted with them and half for his own safety. Shiro returns to his apartment with Lotor and they both return to work. Lotor withdraws Keith from his classes and files for a leave of absence.  Once its approved, for the entire fall term Keith stays with his family. 

He calls Shiro every night to tell him what they've been doing. 

He tells Shiro that his sister Acxa doesn't have autism like him and their mom, but she's genuinely quiet and shy at first like he is. Because of this, it takes them a month to be comfortable enough to talk to each other.

His sister Romelle on the other hand had zero issues talking to him. She quickly becomes attached to him and follows him around the farm like a duckling. Like Shiro suspected, Romelle's adopted (which is likely why she's so attached to Keith. Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was 3 and she was separated from her then 2 year old brother. Keith's family is still looking for her brother and fully intends to adopt him as well. They are also in the process of adopting Lotor, much to Keith's joy.

With all the excitement and joy and the lack of information on Sendak, its understandable that they would all let their guard down.

Keith spends the holidays with his birth family and decides to return to class for winter term, taking weekend trips to see his parents and sisters.

By the time spring break is approaching, they've completely forgotten about Sendak.

A phone call reminds Shiro of everything.

Shiro's at his brother's house when the call comes in.

He frowns when he sees its Lotor.

He doesn't even say hello.

"Hospital. Now."

Shiro feels ice in his lungs as he drives for the hospital.

Lotor meets him in the waiting room.

"Lotor, what happened?!"

"Sendak has shown himself."

Lotor leads him to a room where Akira stands with Acxa and Romelle seated at the bedside of an unconscious Krolia.

"What happened?"

"Krolia and Keith went for a walk together when they were apparently jumped," Lotor explains. "Neighbors saw the whole thing. Krolia held Sendak off fro a great deal of time so Keith could run for it. They said he ran for the woods."

Akira straightens up calmly.

"Girls, stay with your mother."

Akira calmly turns on his heel and leaves.

"I'm coming with you," Shiro states.

"I will remain here," Lotor states. "My talents are of better use here."

Shiro follows Akira outside. There are dark clouds in the distance as the two men walk to a pickup truck with a shotgun in the gun rack in the back window.

"We've roughly an hour and a half before the storm rolls in and washes any tracks away."

They climb into the truck and head out. 

The two men ride in silence the entire drive to where the incident happened. When they get there, he parks the truck on the side of the road. As they get out, Akira grabs an ax from the toolbox in the back and puts it on his belt before grabbing the shotgun off the rack. He grabs a few rounds from the pouch hanging from it and loads them into the gun before opening the glove compartment and handing Shiro the handgun he pulls from it. He then closes the door to the truck with the shotgun still in his hand.

Together they walk over to where the scuffle took place.

Akira crouches down to look at the tracks in the dirt.

"Going by what the neighbors said and how well I know my wife, Keith got a good 30 minute head start before Sendak was able to go after him."

"Keith told me he was getting to know the trails around here pretty well."

"That he has."

Akira locates two sets of tracks heading into the woods.

"Got them. Lets move!"

As they follow the tracks, Shiro is struck by the similarities in Keith and his father's looks of calm fury. Through Akira's tracking skills, they follow the footsteps up a path to a mountain pass toward a cliff over a gorge. Soon they hear shouting and start running toward it.

As they get closer, they can make out what's being said.

"You've been a naughty boy, haven't you Keith. First, you put sleeping pills in my alcohol to put me to sleep so you could run away. You could have killed me, Keith. And after I took you in when your parents kicked you out!"

So that's how Keith got away from him.

"Then, you went and hid with your brother for YEARS without telling me where you were. Do you know how worried I was about you?! Then I finally find you, only to learn you have been cheating on me! Didn't you learn the last time?!"

They burst into the clearing at the edge of the cliff to see Sendak sitting on top of a crying Keith with a knife against Keith's cheek.

Akita already has his shotgun pointed at Sendak's head.

"Drop the knife and get off my son!"  


Shiro aims his own gun at the large man as he looks up at them.

Sendak grabs Keith and pulls him into a choke-hold so he can use Keith for a blood shield.

He growls in Keith's ear.

"You ungrateful shit... after everything your parents and I did for you, this is how you thank us!"

He puts the knife to Keith's throat.

"Maybe I should do everyone here a favor and just kill you right now."

"Let Keith go and drop the knife or we'll shoot!" Shiro shouts.

Sendak throws a look at Shiro.

"You'd have to shoot through Keith in order to carry out that threat, Professor."

Akira racks the slide on his shot gun.

"I will not lose my son to you people again! Let him go!"

Sendak looks at him smugly.

"And what will you do if I..."

** BANG!!! **

Before he can finish the question, Akira pulls the trigger and puts a shot in Sendak's head, making him drop Keith as he falls to the ground dead.

Akira drops his gun and catches Keith as he runs crying into his father's arms.

Over and over Akira repeats the same thing.

"I've got you, son..."


	4. College professor/student AU! Part 3

With Sendak dead and Zarkon and his wife in prison, they all breathe a little easier at knowing that, for the first time in Keith's life, he's finally safe.

Zarkon and Honerva are each found guilty of 1 count of kidnapping, 2 counts of child abuse, and a number of other crimes. As part of a plea deal, they sign a form basically allowing Lotor to be adopted by Keith's parents. Instead of serving life sentences each, they each have to serve 40 years with no chance for parole.

This is of course not counting the numerous other trials they both have waiting.

Apart from Zarkon being the leader of a crime syndicate, Honerva has also been performing unethical experiments on the people Zarkon's syndicate kidnaps in addition to willfully providing medical care for the Galra Crime Syndicate's members.

Unfortunately, there have been a few negative outcomes to all of this.

Due to the trauma he suffered, Keith ends up taking the rest of winter term to recover. This of course means he'll have to repeat his entire senior year of college, but Shiro, Lotor, and pretty much everyone close to him assures him it's OK. Also, his PTSD from all of this proves to be so great that his therapist recommends he get a service dog.

Fortunately, Stella had her puppies right before Spring break and while it will take a while for the puppy to be old enough to train, it won't be hard to get him one.

Also, with all the publicity surrounding Keith and his case and Shiro's involvement in it, Shiro knows it's only a matter of time before word gets around campus of Shiro's relationship with Keith. Shiro knows he has a limited window of time to figure out what to do so Keith won't have to endure anymore emotional trauma.

His answer comes in the form of a visit to his doctor. Rather than take a leave of absence, Shiro retires.

That's the easy part.

The hard part is telling Keith.

"Your tumor came back?"

Shiro sighs.

"Technically, no. The tumor itself is still gone. However, it looks like some of the cancer cells survived. The good news is my doctor believes we caught it early."

"The bad news is you have cancer..."

Shiro looks at Keith.

"Yeah... I'm sorry..."

"The fuck are you sorry for?! You have cancer."

"Still. You've already been through a lot... I'm sorry I'm adding..."

Keith cuts him off by grabbing Shiro's tie and yanking him in for a fierce kiss.

"Don't you dare say you're adding to my problems!"

Keith presses their foreheads together as he continues.

"You have been by my side through all the bullshit I've been through the past four years, so if you think for a MOMENT that I will EVER abandon you when you need me, you're wrong!"

Shiro smiles at him.

"So what happens now?" Keith asks.

"Well, the cancer has spread to about a little up my right humorous so rather than put me on chemo again, they're just going to amputate it at the shoulder to keep it from spreading. After that, it'll be learning to live without my right arm."

Shiro looks up at Keith with a wry smile.

"But at least I won't have to relearn how to write and whatnot!"

~

The amputation is scheduled for the following week. Once his arm is amputated, its rehab and physical therapy.

Through it all, Keith stays at Shiro's side. They move in together right before the start of term.

Keith returns to classes in the fall with his new service dog, Kosmo and by winter term is on track to earn his bachelor's degree in May.

Its during Christmas term that the Holt family develops a new arm for Shiro.

"Is it a prosthetic?"

"Nope, its techno-organic!" Pidge tells him. "We would attach similarly to how a severed limb would be reattached. After that, you'd be in rehab and physical therapy to learn how to use the new arm."

"How soon would we be able to do the surgery?"

"About a month from now if you choose to do it."

~

Shiro tells Keith about it that night.

"So... what do you think?"

Keith raises an eyebrow.

"I _think_ its your decision, not mine. What do you want to do?"

"I want to go through with it. I trust the Holts."

"Then schedule the surgery already."

~

The surgery is a success and during Keith's final term in college, Shiro quickly learns how to use his new arm.

A week before Keith's graduation ceremony, Shiro is lying awake in the bed they share; silently watching him sleep.

He thinks of the past five years and what they've meant to him. He also thinks of how much the man beside him has grown to mean to him. He knows he can't live without him now.

So he decides he won't have to.

~

As Shiro sits in the audience at Keith's graduation ceremony, he watches proudly as Keith walks across the stage with Kosmo walking loyally at his side.

He knows what Keith plans to do after he graduates. His parents have an old shack and barn on their land that Keith wants to bring up to code (it has an outhouse and a water pump outside the front door) and then renovate to fit his needs. Once finished, he plans to open a home for pets who are left homeless by the sudden death of their owner (Shiro's heart nearly exploded when Keith told him. This man has such a good heart!).

With Shiro's arm fully healed, he's been thinking long and hard about what to do now. He could go back to work as a professor, but honestly Shiro doesn't want to be a professor anymore. He still wants to teach and enjoys doing it but he'd really like to do something from home. Matt suggested Shiro become an online teacher and Keith told Shiro how much a teacher like Shiro can mean to someone like Keith who struggles to speak up and advocate for themselves.

With the money he'd make from online schooling as well as help from Keith's family and Keith's new freelance job, he wants to help fund Keith's shelter for homeless pets.

As Keith waves at them after getting his diploma, Shiro smiles as the stage lighting glints of the shiny ring Shiro put on the other man's finger.


	5. Post Season 4 AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if everything after Season 4 goes differently? The characters are the same, but the chain of events go a little differently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just another way they could have taken the series that would have been cool and made sense.

First of all, Lotor genuinely joins the Coalition as an ally. His reasons are still directly linked to the quintessence supply Keith's tracking with the Blades, but the source is different.

Lotor still has the Altean Colony, but its not hidden in the Quantum Abyss. Or at least, not any more.

Most of the events of Season 5 are the same, they still save Pidge's dad and Lotor is still made emperor through Haggar meddling via the Shiro clone. Haggar also stays Haggar, but with Honerva's memories.

After being made Emperor, Lotor reveals the true reason he allied with the Coalition.

Lotor takes Allura and the Paladins to where the Altean colony is hidden on a Galra cruiser. He then tells them that Haggar somehow found the colony while he was stand-in emperor while Zarkon was near death. He tells them Haggar had been taking them somewhere. When Lotor found out, he moved the Alteans.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend and so Lotor joined the Coalition due to their shared interest in stopping Haggar; in addition to learning what happened to the Alteans from his colony.

They still search for the Oriande and find it. Allura still learns alchemy and builds the Sincline (at the clone's suggestion).

While all that is happening, Keith meets Krolia and they still go on their mother/son camping trip through the Quantum Abyss. However, they don't find the Altean Colony and Keith's dad isn't dead. He was just in a coma for about 10 years.

They find Haggar's lab (sans Haggar, who is on a ship). Attached to it is the cloning facility and where the Alteans from the colony are being drained of quintessence.

Krolia and Keith explore the cloning facility (with Kosmo) and make a shocking discovery.

Shiro, the REAL Shiro, complete with undercut and Paladin armor. He's held inside a kind of cryo pod.

Keith immediately opens it and catches Shiro as he falls out of it. When Shiro comes to, they quickly figure out the Shiro they thought they had was a clone.

As they search the lab for a ship to steal, they find where the Alteans are being drained of quintessence.

At first, it appears they're all dead. They're about to move on, when Keith freezes in his place.

It takes Shiro and Krolia a moment to notice.

Keith senses something calling out to him and tells them such right before taking off through the lines of capsules. Krolia and Shiro follow him until they reach four capsules like the others. They stop at a distance and stare.

They're all clearly family. The Alteans in the first three capsules are dead, but Romelle is in the last one. Like the others, she's suspended in some kind of liquid. There doesn't appear to be any visible way to open it by normal means and time is running out to save her.

Keith gets an idea.

Before anyone can stop him, he runs up, awakens his blade, and slices through the glass of the pod.

As the glass explodes and a tidal wave of fluid rushes out of the pod, Keith quickly drops the blade to catch Romelle as she falls out on the ground.

Romelle wakes up understandably confused. She tells them her name and that she's 14 deca-phoebs. She then screams when she sees the other three pods. As suspected, they're her parents and brother.

She cries, Keith and Krolia comfort and more or less adopt her.

They find an altered Galra fighter which they steal to get back to the others, but not before using it to destroy the entire lab, cloning facility and all.

They return to the castle and expose the clone, only for it to go nuts and steal the newly finished Sincline.

Shiro is still too weak to pilot Black, so when Pidge asks who will lead them, Keith immediately and confidently states he will, rendering Shiro both proud and breathless.

There's no Black Paladin fight, but the entire fight with the Sincline happens, only its the Clone in the pilot seat.

They defeat the clone and return to the castle to find the teledav in meltdown from the clone's arm. Pidge stops it, but they still have to use the Castle of Lions to close the rift.

They evacuate the castle to Lotor's cruiser with the Alteans and use it to ride out the explosion that jumps them ahead three years. However, the explosion knocks out the cruiser's wormhole generator so the still have to limp back to Earth.

Season 7 is still the trip back to Earth, but now they're in the cruiser.

On the way, while taking care of Shiro, Keith reminisces with him about how they first met.

Shiro knows he's quickly falling hard for Keith and the two almost kiss several times during the trip.

They still get captured by Zethrid and Ezor and are saved by Acxa, only Lotor is able to talk them down. That's how they learn they've been missing for 3 years.

The fight with Macidus still happens and Krolia still leaves with Kolivan, only now there's more Sheith.

Earth is still taken over by Sendak, but Adam doesn't die; he was just shot down.

When the Paladins find out, they use their Galra cruiser disguise to bring Galra fighters into the ship while scrambling their radios to keep them from calling for help. They leave the Galra cruiser cloaked in orbit around Neptune. Lotor stays behind with the Alteans, fearing his presence may make things worse.

The Paladins and such still do the thing with the fighter to get past the Galra in orbit. The welcoming party is the same, except Adam and Keith's dad are there.

The confrontation with Sanda and the other admirals are the same, except now Adam is with Commander Holt and Iverson backing the Paladins.

Allura still makes Shiro a new prosthetic, but its an Altean version of his Galra prosthetic since he still has his arm.

Before getting fitted with it, he and Adam talk and get closure before deciding to stay friends.

As they're planning, they have Lotor and the Alteans open the bays for the Lions.

The battle for Earth still goes the same. Sanda still does the thing, Shiro is still named Atlas' Captain (only now Adam and Keith's Dad are with them. The only difference is now they have support from Lotor and their allies, who stay cloaked throughout the battle because they aren't stupid.

Everything else happens the same.

The robeast fight still happens and Shiro still transforms Atlas which leads to hilarious dialogue between him and Adam.

"This is weird!"

"Keith has a blue space wolf for a pet, but this is weird?"

"Shut up, Takashi!"

The Paladins still fall to Earth following the robeast explosion.

Instead of an Altean from the colony, they find an Altean from the Alternate Reality where Allura is empress and the Galra mind slaves.

Shortly before or after heading back into space, Shiro has a MASSIVE panic attack that puts him in medbay. Sam theorizes that because Shiro has been going nonstop since Kerberos was captured, he might need a mental break from leading for a while.

When Allura is unavailable for a battle where they need Voltron, Shiro runs to Blue and asks her to let him help. Shiro then becomes the new Blue Paladin and Allura steps up as Captain after successfully transforming Atlas herself.

Much of Season 8 happens the same, except the battle for the Oriande and checking on Olkarion happen in reverse order. During the fight with the Oriande, markings pop up on Keith's face that aren't Altean, but Polluxian; a sister race to Alteans. Since Krolia is full blooded Galra, it could only mean that Keith's dad is of Polluxian descent. They still fail to save the White Lion, and Haggar still uses it to bring the Sincline back through, but she loses it to the Coalition. In anger, she takes the Oriande instead.

The entire Atlas goes to check on Olkarion, not just the Paladins.

After that, Keith starts having visions leading them to the ruins of Pollux. The moment the Palladins arrive where Keith is being lead, Keith immediately goes into a trance that leads him to a temple on Pollux that still stands, even with the planet being completely destroyed.

Some space magic stuff happens and they learn that the Polluxians hid the Lions and that when the Lions were brought to where they were hidden, the Polluxians just stayed where they were and mingled into the local population if there was one. One of the Polluxians who hid Blue on Earth is Keith and his dad's ancestor. They learn Keith is whats known as a Channeler, on who can absorb and sense quintessence and that only Polluxians can be Channelers.

They then learn the White Lion will regenerate and the Law of Equivalent Exchange before going on their way.

Soon after this, Krolia reveals to Akira (Keith's dad), Keith, and Acxa that she had a daughter after she left Keith and his dad that was taken from her; a daughter she has now confirmed is Acxa. Akira and Krolia have also adopted Romelle and pretty much Lotor (Lotor deserves a loving family damn it!)

The episode before the last one, the Paladins go on a mission to rescue some civilians from one of Haggar's ships while Atlas acts as a distraction.

The mission turns out to be a trap.

Shiro and Keith provide a distraction together while the other Paladins succeed in rescuing the civilians.

They end up trapped in the escape pod launch bay, where Shiro has a panic attack over being captured again.

Keith starts to calm Shiro down when the soldiers reach the sealed door.

Keith makes a quick decision.

He gently pulls Shiro into a standing position and holds the older man's attention. He reminds Shiro that Keith promised to save Shiro as many times as it takes and vowed not to let Haggar lay a finger on him again. As the soldiers start trying to get in, Keith kisses Shiro tenderly and tells him he loves him.

Before Shiro can respond, Keith presses the Black Bayard into Shiro's chest and gives him a hard shove. Shiro lands on his ass and the bayard falls on the ground beside him.

Shiro looks around and sees he's in an escape pod. Keith had moved them while keeping Shiro's attention.

Shiro runs to the door right as it closes and Keith watches calmly as it launches. Tears roll down Shiro's face and he yells Keith's name as he watches the door burst open and Keith get captured.

As the pod reaches the Atlas, Shiro tearfully grips the Black Bayard and swears he'll save Keith.

This leads to the final battle and episode (which is an hour long).

After a long battle with Shiro flying the Black Lion they get to Haggar's stronghold. Lotor, the Paladins, and the rest of the Coalition fights Honerva's Alteans while Shiro battles his way to Haggar with his bayard weapon; a large circle shield like Captain America's shield.

He finds Haggar and demands to know what she's done with Keith. She shows him Keith and Shiro gasps in horror when he sees Keith is now sporting a Galra mind control device. Where once was a passionate, fiery man now stands an emotionless, docile puppet.

Haggar commands Keith to help her before attacking Shiro.

The entire time Shiro fights them, he pleads with Keith to fight her, not knowing that Keith's already fighting desperately to break its hold on him. They defeat him and as Haggar prepares to kill Shiro, he looks at Keith and tells him he loves him too. This breaks the mind control device's hold on Keith long enough for Keith to break free of it.

When Haggar fires, Keith steps between them; taking the fatal hit himself.

Shiro tearfully catches Keith as he falls and holds the other man as Haggar prepares to kill them both. Shiro looks down at the man in his arms before protectively pulling him closer and wrapping his body around Keith's, waiting for his end.

The hit never come because Lotor kills her before she can fire.

Shiro cradles Keith in his arms and cries his name as Keith remains unresponsive. The bridge crew, Keith's family, and the other Paladins join them.

Pidge confirms tearfully that Keith is dead and Shiro cries harder.

He pleads with Keith to come back to him. He remembers finding Keith not breathing after the Robeast explosion and using his prosthetic to revive him. Shiro gets the idea to do it again. When Allura points out that Keith is dead and the law of equivalent exchange demands something of equal value and using his prosthetic will destroy it, Shiro plainly states he doesn't care.

A right arm for a right arm.

Shiro's arm is destroyed reviving Keith and Shiro Snow White kisses Keith as he revives.

Some other stuff happens that leads to the Lions sacrificing themselves to save the Paladins and the war ends.

Lotor marries Allura, Shiro marries Keith, Krolia officially marries Akira, and Pidge, Lance, and Hunk marry (insert favorite ship for them here).

LE END!!


	6. CEO Shiro/Secretary Keith, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CEO/Secretary AU!

CEO Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane has only one personal rule for himself at work: Never sleep with your staff.

It’s a cliché stereotype Shiro finds annoying. The fact that he’s officially sworn off dating as a whole only supports this rule. When you catch your now ex-husband cheating on you with your ex-fiancé, your opinion on love and romance tends to sour.

Shiro has already gone through 10 secretaries in the past year because they keep hitting on him with the intent to sleep with him. Doesn't matter what their gender. Without fail, every single one of them tries to fuck him.

So, when they hire the eleventh new secretary, Shiro thinks nothing other than how long this one will last before hitting on him.

That's when he met Keith Kogane.

All the previous secretaries either immediately started chatting him up during breaks or waited a month before chatting him up. This man? Barely acknowledges Shiro outside of work hours. At first Shiro doesn't think on it, but when the second month starts and Keith still hasn't acknowledged Shiro outside work hours, it completely throws Shiro off guard.

But that's good, that's exactly what he wanted so he doesn't put any more thought into it.

And Shiro will admit, it’s nice having a secretary that actually DOES HIS JOB and seems to be as much of a workaholic as Shiro is so it’s nice to have company who isn't trying to get in his pants.

It’s not until month five that Shiro learns Keith ISN'T actually a workaholic.

As he's leaving his office to go on break, he pauses when he hears Keith on a video call.

"Daddy! Did you get the picture I sent you?!" Shiro hears a small voice ask; clearly female.

"I did, sweetheart! Its sitting on my desk right now at work, see?"

Shiro hears paper moving.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it, Katie. They look just like a cat."

Shiro hears a second little voice then; also, female.

"Papa, I got an A on my science fair project!"

"That's great, Romi!"

"Mine was the only project that was original. Though, Grampa needs a new VCR now..."

"That VCR ate tapes anyway!" Shiro hears an adult male yell in the background.

Another young female voice comes in.

"Hey Dad, guess what?! I helped Gramma fix the dishwasher and Grampa and I cleaned out the horse stable together!"

"Glad to hear you're helping your grandparents, Allie. Read anything interesting?"

The call continues like this for 5 more minutes.

"It’s good talking to you, Girls. Could you put your grandparents on the phone?"

"Why don't you girls go feed the bunnies?" an older woman suggests.

"OK!"

"I love you, girls."

"Love you!"

Three pairs of feet are heard running off.

"Thanks again for taking care of them while I get back on my feet."

"Family helps family, Son. We know this separation is as hard on you as it is for the girls. It’s been a rough year and a half."

Shiro turns his head at that. He knows he shouldn't be listening in to Keith's private phone call but he's curious.

“Actually, it’s closer to two years since the accident," Keith corrects his dad.

"How are you holding up?"

"I want my daughters living with me again! The weekend visits and calls aren't enough!"

"We know my Star," his mom says. "I know it’s hard, but be patient."

"How's work?" his dad asks.

"It’s a paycheck. A really good paycheck, but still."

"It’s lasted longer than two months so that's good."

"That's because my boss is the first one I've worked for in the last 10 months who hasn't tried to get in my pants and then use my job as leverage when I turned them down!"

Oh.

That... That explains a lot.

“When I saw how high this guy’s turnover rate for secretaries was, I thought that was why but no, he barely talks to me beyond work. And we work late together a lot. If anything, he seems to be avoiding me as much as I am him.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Definitely! It’s just nice to finally have a stable job where the guy I work for isn’t requiring that I suck his dick to stay employed.”

“If I wanted to do that, there’s literally a strip club that does that kind of thing next door to the hotel I was living in until two months ago.”

“Does that mean you’re in an apartment now?” His mom asks.

“No, just a better hotel that’s closer to work.”

Shiro frowns.

He’s living in a hotel?

“Are there no single bedroom apartments near your work?” His dad asks.

“There are, but they’re really run down. Besides, I’m aiming for a two-bedroom apartment closer to good schools. I’m also going to need to be able to afford a sitter. Both of which are expensive.”

Shiro hears Keith sigh sadly.

“I was hoping to have my girls living with me again by Christmas, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be happening. And I don’t want to move them when school is back in so we probably won’t be together again until summer.”

Keith sighs again.

“I’ve gotta go. I’m already 10 minutes into my hour lunch break and I still haven’t eaten.”

“Alright, son. We love you.”

“Love you too. Tell the girls I’ll Skype them again tonight at bedtime.”

They hang up and Shiro hears Keith get up and leave his desk for the break room.

Shiro enters the waiting area for his office and walks over to Keith’s desk.

The first thing Shiro sees are pictures of 3 little girls of different ages taped all over Keith’s desk where no one but he would see them. Then he sees a couple faxed crayon drawings on Keith’s desk.

One is a picture of different colored cats; red, yellow, green, blue, and black (had to squeeze them in somehow).

The other actually makes Shiro tear up a little.

It’s a drawing of four different sized figures inside a house with a heart around it.

A family picture.

Drawn by the hand of a small child.

Shiro understands now. Keith isn’t a workaholic like Shiro is. He’s a single father trying desperately to get off the street and afford to have his daughters living with him while dealing with skeezy bosses trying to use their status as his boss to force him to sleep with them. It never occurred to Shiro that as a secretary, Keith may have had the same problem with bosses that Shiro had with secretaries.

For Shiro, it was just an annoyance, but for Keith? It was hindering his efforts to be reunited with his daughters permanently.

Shiro looks at the calendar on Keith's desk. Keith said he wanted his daughters to be living with him by Christmas. It’s already late October so that's about two months away.

Challenge accepted.

~

Of course, Shiro doesn't know the first thing about being a parent or how to help get Keith into an apartment near a good school, so he turned to the only person he knows who would.

Allura, the head of Accounting and payrolls.

"Allura, you have kids, right?"

Allura raises an amused eyebrow at him.

"Hello to you too."

He must have a serious look on his face because she immediately continues.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Why the sudden interest?"

Shiro quickly explains the situation.

"There are a number of good schools in our city. In fact, there's one two blocks away from our building. Lance and I send the twins there and will likely send the rest of our kids there. But housing and apartments in better school zones are somewhat pricey. It'll be worse the moment any landlord finds out he's a single parent. That's likely what his primary issue is. Also, as a single parent, he will need to either pay for after-school care or a babysitter, both of which are also expensive. That’s actually why Lance opened a daycare in our house with his best friend. Add to that other necessities, such as food and clothes, and non-necessities such as school trips and hobbies. Being a parent is expensive. That's not even mentioning medical expenses."

"He's good on that at least."

"Indeed. Your company is known for how much it cares for its employees in terms of benefits, pay, and such. It is one of the reasons it does so well. At his current pay rate, he'd be in an apartment with money in the bank for emergencies by April. However, I can tell you right now, in order for Keith to live with his kids near a good school before Christmas, he will need a pay raise as well as a substantial holiday bonus. Neither of which are possible at the moment without someone taking a pay-cut."

Shiro doesn't even hesitate.

"Cut my pay."

Allura looks at him.

“I beg your pardon?"

Shiro just looks at her.

"You heard me. Cut my pay."

"Are you serious?"

"He's living in a hotel, Allura! I live in a penthouse I inherited from my parents! If either of us needs that money, its him."

"Still, it’s rare for a CEO to be willing to take a pay cut BEFORE seeing if those under him are willing to."

"Never ask of others what you're unwilling to do yourself." Shiro tells her. "My grandfather always told me that."

"Wise words to live by. If he chooses the school district closer to the office, he could use Lance's daycare for an after-school care. He has discounts for single parents."

"What if we "helped" him find an apartment..." Shiro asks.

Allura looks at him again.

"What do you mean "help"?"

"Well, I know a guy who owns a number of properties around the city... two of which are apartment complexes in that school district. He's a hardass, but he has a soft spot for single parents."

"How would you ensure he finds those places?"

"That part's actually pretty easy."

Shiro pulls out his cell phone and presses one of his contacts. Allura can hear a male voice answer.

"Matt, It's Shiro. Put your sister on the phone."

After a moment, Shiro laughs.

"Just shut up and get your sister!"

Allura raises a questioning eyebrow at Shiro.

"Adoptive brother and sister," Shiro explains to her as he switches to speaker phone. Allura nods acceptingly as another voice comes to the phone.

"Hey, Pidge. Can you hack a search engine?"

Pidge scoffs.

"Who do you think you're talking to? Matt?"

"Hey!"

"Great! I need a favor."

~

The following morning, Keith's pay raise gets approved.

He anticipated many responses to him telling Keith; varying from acceptance to outright refusal.

Keith narrows his eyes at him.

"What's the catch?"

In hindsight, he should have anticipated suspicion being one of them.

'Did a previous boss try to use a pay raise to try and coerce him into sex under the guise of gratitude?' Shiro wonders to himself.

Of course, Keith doesn't know that Shiro knows about that, so he pretends to be dumb by blinking in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"What's the catch? No one else is getting a pay raise right now, so why me? What do you want from me?"

Geez, this guy would make a decent business man. He's intimidating as fuck when he wants to be. Shiro is genuinely shocked by it.

"Nothing. Short of you keeping up the good work. You've been a great secretary."

Shiro thinks a moment before deciding to throw in a little bit of honesty to see if it will put Keith's mind at ease about this.

"You're the first secretary I haven't had to fire after a month for being more interested in sleeping with their boss than doing their job."

There's still suspicion in Keith's eyes, but it’s definitely less intense.

"That's why you have a high turnover rate for secretaries?"

Shiro nods.

"Its... not the other way around? You weren't trying to sleep with them?"

"Of course not!"

"So... it’s an honest raise and not you trying to buy your way into my pants?"

Shiro looks at Keith sadly.

"Is that what your previous bosses tried to do with you?"

Keith slowly nods.

Even though Shiro knew this already, hearing Keith admit it is still sad.

"Keith, I promise. I'm not that kind of CEO. It’s an honest raise. No strings attached."

Shiro practically sees Keith's hackles go down, even if he's still eyeing Shiro in suspicion.

"Ok."

~

Over the next two weeks, Keith's search history is nothing but looking at school zones and apartments. Shiro smiles when he sees every single one of them is the apartments run by his friend in the school district Allura recommended.

Pidge does good work.

When the office holiday party rolls around, Shiro knows from Keith changing his address that Keith's signed a lease for an apartment.

"You realize this is a little creepy, right?" Allura points out to Shiro at said holiday party. "It’s sweet, but just a little bit creepy."

"Once I know he and his daughters are together again, I'll completely back off."

Turns out getting Keith the holiday bonus takes a little more than just a pay-cut.

Their business is thriving, but it’s doing so in the midst of a bad year for businesses as a whole, so it’s not a high bar. Not everyone is going to get a bonus this year.

Shiro forgoes his own holiday bonus and Allura does the same for hers before denying the holiday bonuses for the other department heads and board members so the employees with families on the lower pay brackets will get them. He does pull a little more from his own pocket to ensure that Keith still gets a good bonus. It’s not as big as he hoped, and he also has to deal with the department heads and board members bitching at him because how dare they not get more money to spend the holidays in the Alps. But it’s worth it when he sees the smiles on the entry level staff's faces. It’s even more worth it when he sees the pictures of Keith and his daughters together in front of their new apartment.

For the whole week, Shiro closes the building for the holidays, Shiro honestly forgets about it as he spends it with his adoptive family as well as his biological brother and his family.

Apparently, Shiro didn't cover his tracks enough because he gets confronted by Keith the day after they return.

"You took a pay cut to give me my raise?"

Shiro recognizes a panicked look when he sees one.

"How?"

"Did you forget part of my job involves payroll?"

Ok, he genuinely did forget that. In his defense, it’s been a while since he's had a decent secretary.

"Why?! Why are you doing all this for me? None of my other bosses went to this length for me without wanting something in return."

Shiro should have known it wouldn't be that easy to earn Keith's trust in him as a boss after so many bosses abused Keith's job position.

Shiro removes his glasses calmly and looks at Keith.

"I don't want anything Keith, apart from you to continue to do your job. I already told you, I'm not the kind of CEO who abuses my position in the way you're thinking."

"So why take a pay cut to give me a raise?"

Shiro calmly stands, but knows better than to approach Keith right now with him on the defensive. Since he's come this far, Shiro figures he can come clean a little more.

"Honestly, it’s because I knew you needed that pay more than I do."

Keith blinks in confusion.

"What?"

Shiro leans against his desk.

"You think I don't know you were living in a hotel Keith? Or that you were separated from your daughters?"

Keith blinks again.

"How? I never brought it up to you because of how it was used by my previous bosses."

Shiro wasn't ready to admit the exact "how" so he used the evidence Allura pointed out to him.

"The address you had listed was an address for a farming town three hours away registered under an Akira Kogane. We also run a complete background check on my personal assistants... Your credit shows a foreclosure on your credit less than two years ago with hotel room purchases on it and there are pictures on your desk of three little girls. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to put that together. Either you and your daughters were all living in a hotel or it was just you and you left your daughters with who I'm guessing is your parents until you weren't living in hotels."

Keith still looks completely defensive.

"But why do you care about any of that?"

"Because I'm not a complete asshole?" Shiro tells him wryly. "I'm sorry if your previous bosses were, but I actually give a shit about my employees, especially my personal assistants. Its simple business. I can't expect my employees to do their jobs if they're worried about where they're going to sleep that night or if they can afford to eat. You looked like you had fallen on hard times so I decided to help. Sometimes people just need a little help."

Keith lets his guard down more.

"You're... not at all what I expected... I don't mean to sound..."

Shiro doesn't let him finish that sentence.

"You're not being ungrateful, Keith. You're protecting yourself from having your trust abused again. I get that. Honestly, I was the same way when you started working here. Yet, you proved me wrong. If it puts your mind at ease, I have a strict rule against sleeping with my personal assistant."

Keith raises his eyebrow at Shiro.

"Seriously?"

"Completely serious. It’s a cliché I find annoying."

"Agreed."

~

After that, Keith was much more relaxed around Shiro.

However, after two years of working together with Keith and getting to know him, he should have known he'd end up eating his own words.

~

Over the years, Shiro learns a lot about Keith. He learns Keith grew up in the farming town three hours away with his twin sister, Acxa, and their adopted siblings; an older brother named Lotor and a pair of younger siblings; Romelle and Bandor. Keith's twin is in her final year at college, his older brother is a lawyer specializing in defending victims of domestic violence, his younger sister Romelle just started her first year in college, and his younger brother, Bandor is still in high school

Keith learns that Shiro has a younger brother himself and that their birth parents died when Shiro was 5 and his brother a newborn, they were both raised by their grandparents until they both died when Shiro was 13, at which point he and his brother were separated in foster care. Shiro aged out of the system and went to college where he met and became best friends with Matt Holt, who then introduced him to his father who was head of the science department. Shiro became so close to the Holt family that they ended up adopting Shiro. The Holts managed to track down Shiro's brother, who by then was going through med school with his girlfriend, who would become his wife. His brother's a labor and delivery nurse, his sister-in-law's a doctor, and together they have three kids; twin boys and a baby girl.

Shiro learns Keith's partner and the girls' other father was a trans-man who was killed in a car accident. He learns the reason Keith lost their house was because Keith was also in the same accident and without his husband's insurance, the medical bills stripped his savings to 0. Keith's credit still hasn't fully recovered, but his medical dept is paid off now.

Shiro tells Keith about his ex-fiancé, their break-up, meeting and marrying his ex-husband, and walking in on his ex-husband with his ex-fiancé.

It’s around the start of his second year working with Keith as his personal assistant that Shiro starts to feel an attraction to Keith.

In the two years that they work together, they become an incredible team with Keith handling little things so Shiro can focus on the big things. Now that Keith's eldest daughter is old enough to babysit his younger daughters, Keith can work late a little more often. Not a lot and never when his girls have something going on, just a few times a month unless there's an emergency.

Shiro learns about Keith's girls and their hobbies and personalities. He also learns that he and Keith have a lot in common in terms of interests. By halfway through the second year, Shiro's attraction grows until Shiro thinks he might be in love with his personal assistant.

But Shiro had sworn to Keith that he wasn't that kind of CEO. He has his personal rule after-all, right?

That cliché is annoying.

So even when Shiro starts to have sexual fantasies about Keith, he keeps it to himself. He settles with waiting until he's alone either in his penthouse or his office when Keith isn't working late to jerk off to them; fully content to remain in the honorable boss zone he's put himself in.

Even when he notices the way Keith looks at him when he thinks Shiro can't see, he convinces himself he's seeing things. It's just his growing desires to have his personal assistant ride his dick or to fuck Shiro into the couch in his office playing tricks on him.

That changes the last night before a three-day business weekend.

Like so many other nights working late, they're the only two left in the whole building. No need for security above the lower levels of the building since all the department heads have a work laptop that they take home. They've just finished working out the details for a business deal with Shiro sitting in his desk chair and Keith standing next to the chair leaning on the desk.

They both turn to look at each other at the exact same time and Shiro swears he feels the air in the room change.

They're so close to one another. Their faces seem to drift closer on their own accord. They both seem to pull back just a little at the last second as though they were both trying to resist the urge to cross that line they're teetering on the edge of.

When Shiro recognizes the same look of sexual conflict on Keith's face, he brushes Keith's lips briefly and gently with his own as a kind of wordless question.

'Is this ok?'

Keith answers by firmly closing the distance for a complete kiss that makes the answer clear.

'Yes.'

Keith immediately pushes the armrests on Shiro’s desk chair up before straddling Shiro's lap as their mouths slot against each other. Shiro groans as Keith slips his tongue into Shiro's mouth as hands pull the shirt tails from waistbands. Shiro helps Keith free himself from his neck tie and undoes the top button. As Shiro kisses his way to Keith's ear, he gives Keith one final chance to back out.

"Tell me to stop right now and I will."

His response is immediate.

"I don't want you to stop."

With that, the last of Shiro restraint flies out the window as he continues to unbutton Keith's shirt. His lips continue their path down Keith's neck to his collar where he immediately sucks a love bite. He finally undoes the last button and gently glides his thumb across one of Keith's nipples, drawing a silent, shuttering breath from Keith. The sound combined with the smell of Keith's aftershave and cologne is intoxicating in the best way.

How long has it been since Shiro was with another man like this?

God, he can't even remember.

Shiro captures Keith's lips once more as he slides his hand further up to slip the shirt off Keith's shoulders. Keith removes his hands long enough to let the shirt fall to the floor. When Keith's hands return, Shiro feels them undo his own tie before working their way down the buttons of his shirt. Shiro can feel the bulge in Keith's pants pressing against him. Before Keith can push his shirt off, Shiro undoes Keith's belt and pants before delving into them. Keith moans against Shiro's lips the moment his hand touches Keith's dick. Shiro feels a tug at his own belt before a hand strokes his dick, drawing an intake of breath from Shiro. Keith nibbles Shiro's lip.

They rest their foreheads against each other.

"I've really wanted to do this for so long..." he breathes into Shiro's lips. "I was afraid to say anything..."

"That makes two of us," Shiro admits. "Tell me what you want, Keith."

"I really want you to fuck me, but none of us have lube."

"It’s not lube, it'll do the job."

Shiro opens a top drawer on his desk and pulls out a jar of Vaseline he uses for his hands.

"What about condoms?" Keith asks.

Shiro looks at Keith plainly.

"Have you had sex at all since before the accident?"

Keith shakes his head.

"And you know my medical record. We're both clean."

Shiro kisses Keith then, slipping his tongue in Keith's mouth as he gently squeezes the dick still in his hand. Keith moans softly into Shiro's mouth.

"Do you trust me, Keith?" Shiro breathes between kisses.

"More than any boss I've ever had."

Shiro pulls Keith's pants until both they and his boxers are bunched against Shiro's chest.

"I'm going to make you feel good."

Shiro gives Keith's ass a quick squeeze with both of his hands, drawing a moan from the other man. He blazes a trail of kisses down to Keith's nipple, which Shiro immediately takes into his mouth. Keith starts to squirm in Shiro's lap as he licks and sucks and nibbles at it. Intrigued by the reaction, Shiro wraps an arm around Keith to hold him in place and moves his mouth to the other nipple, so his free hand can experiment with gently pinching the other one. Keith is now moaning and whimpering softly as he squirms more and more in Shiro's lap.

After several minutes, leaves them alone for now; not wanting Keith to cum too quickly. He kisses his way back to Keith's mouth and pushes his tongue into it as he kisses him. He removes his hands long enough to remove the top from the Vaseline. One hand returns to Keith's body while the other gets some of the petroleum gel on his fingers. He immediately moves them to Keith's ass. He teases Keith's hole for a moment before pushing in. Keith's mouth drops open in a silent moan.

When he lifts himself up to make it easier for Shiro, Shiro rewards him by brushing Keith's prostate just a little. Keith nearly moans out loud, but resists it for some reason; likely force of habit.

Shiro nibbles Keith's ear.

"No need to keep quiet, Baby... Only ones above the fifth floor right now are the two of us."

Shiro proves his point by brush Keith's prostate again and again as he fingers Keith open. This time, Keith doesn't bother to stop the moans that pour out of him. Noticing Keith is about to cum, Shiro moves to pull his hand out, but Keith stops him.

"I can cum more than once."

Shiro looks at him with interest.

"Really?"

Keith nods.

Shiro gives him a look that makes Keith's cock twitch in Shiro's hand.

"Good to know."

Shiro wraps an arm around Keith to hold him in place as he resumes fingering him. He then takes Keith's nipple into his mouth again and sucks and nibbles at it relentlessly as he rubs Keith's prostate over and over. Keith moans loudly and grips Shiro's arms as he squirms in Shiro's lap. Before long, Keith cums between them.

Shiro doesn't stop there though. After getting more Vaseline on his fingers, he moves to two; all without stopping his attention on Keith's nipples.

That's when Shiro notices a problem.

Keith's pants won't go down further because of the way they're sitting. He pulls his fingers from Keith, earning him a whimper. Keith looks at him but before he can say anything, Shiro kisses him hot and filthy before whispering.

"Stand up and turn around, Keith."

Keith does as he's told and Shiro quickly pushes Keith's pants down further and makes short work on his own pants and boxers before pulling the other man back into his lap.

Shiro nibbles Keith's ear before breathing.

"There we go..."

Shiro immediately resumes fingering Keith open from behind while gently pinching Keith's nipples; relishing in the sounds coming from him. After several minutes of this, Shiro quickly puts the Vaseline on his dick before pushing in. They moan in unison as Shiro hilts himself completely. Once Keith has adjusted, Shiro slowly pulls out a little before thrusting back in. Soon, Shiro finds a rhythm, drawing beautiful moans from the man in his lap.

Shiro holds Keith's legs open with one leg while holding the other leg up with his hand.

"H... Harder..." Keith moans after a while.

Shiro thinks for a minute. The angle they're in isn't very good for Shiro to fuck Keith the way Keith wants.

"I need to stand," Shiro breathes in Keith's ear. 

Keith nods and Shiro pushes Keith so that they can both stand. Shiro quickly bends Keith over the desk before immediately thrusting back in hard.

"YES!" Keith hisses.

Shiro quickly gets his rhythm back and is soon fucking Keith hard and deep. Keith moans in pleasure as he grips the desk.

"You like when I fuck you like this, don't you?"

"Yes, Sir!" Keith moans.

Shiro leans over and breathes in Keith's ear as he fucks him.

"Say my name, Keith."

Keith immediately moans Shiro's name. His moans are getting louder and louder.

"That's it, Keith... be as loud as you want..."

Keith's hands are scrambling on the desk trying to find something to hold onto as he moans helplessly. Shiro can feel his own pleasure quickly mounting.

"Don't stop!" Keith moans loudly. "Please don't stop!"

Shiro reaches around Keith and starts pumping Keith's dick in time with his thrusts.

"Are you gonna cum for me again, baby?"

Keith nods.

"Cum for me then, Keith. Cum for me."

Keith moans loudly as he cums a second time. Shiro follows soon after and doesn't stop thrusting until it ends. They both collapse on the desk panting as they come down from their respective highs.

The reality of what they just did hits them both at the same time because they both tense up.

"So... what happens now?" Keith asks tentatively.

"I leave that entirely up to you," Shiro tells him. "If you don't feel comfortable working for me anymore, I know a guy looking for an assistant nearby who’s not only honorable but also happily married and straight... But personally, I want you to stay."

"But what about your rule?"

"That's why I'm offering you an out. Because I know I just broke my own rule and my promise that I wasn't the kind of boss that sleeps with my assistants."

Keith looks at him plainly.

"Did you hire me just to fuck me?"

"Well, no."

"Then you kept your promise."

Shiro chuckles at that.

“Not to mention, I wasn’t exactly trying to stop you either.”

Shiro laughs.

“You got me there.”

“Besides...”

Keith pushes Shiro back so that he pulls out of Keith. Once Shiro’s out of him, Keith turns around and brushes his lips across Shiro’s tenderly.

“...I like working for you.”

Now it’s Shiro’s turn to whimper as Keith slips his tongue into Shiro’s mouth.

In that moment, Keith could ask Shiro for anything in this universe and Shiro would give it to him if he could. God, he’s just came and he’s already getting hard. That’s never happened before. Shiro needed this so badly, needs Keith so badly. It’s like he’s been starving for something only Keith can give him.

Despite the growing desire between them, they pull away and rest their foreheads against each other.

After a moment, Shiro pulls back and looks at Keith.

“Can I take you out to dinner some time?”

Keith smiles.

“Dinner sounds great.”


End file.
